PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Staff

Bob Spink: To ask the Prime Minister how many disciplinary actions against civil servants employed in his Office (a) were commenced and (b) resulted in a sanction being applied in each of the last five years.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office today.

SCOTLAND

Transport Links (England)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on improving road and rail links between Scotland and England.

Alistair Darling: Regular discussions are held with the Scottish Executive on a range of transport matters.

Undersea Pipeline (Norway)

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on the merits of an undersea oil and gas pipeline between Scotland and Norway.

David Cairns: My right hon. Friends have regular discussions on a wide range of issues.

Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Scottish Ministers on the commencement of sections 25 to 29 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990.

David Cairns: My right hon. Friend has not discussed the commencement of sections 25 to 29 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990, which is a devolved matter, with Scottish Ministers.

Population Decline

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps the Government is taking to address the declining population of Scotland.

David Cairns: The Government are committed to implementing policies that will improve the social well being and economic prosperity of the people of Scotland. This includes our initiatives on managed migration that help to create economic migration routes into Britain that respond positively and flexibly to the needs of the labour market. The population figures published routinely by the Registrar General for Scotland are projections from past trends and cannot of course take account of future social or economic policy effects on population patterns at national or local level.

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Robert Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed closure of the Banchory station of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology on climate change research in Scotland.

David Cairns: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Competitiveness, Department for Trade and Industry, to the hon. Member for East Surrey (Mr. Ainsworth) on 10 January 2006, Official Report, column 471W.
	I am sure that the Natural Environment Research Council will consider all evidence and views on the potential impact of the proposed re-structuring of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, including the proposed closure of the site at Banchory.

Arbuthnott Commission

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has received the report of the Arbuthnot commission; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: The Arbuthnott Commission published its report on 19 January. My right hon. Friend welcomed the report and said he would consider carefully the recommendations and respond in due course.

Nuclear Waste

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister of Scotland regarding the disposal of nuclear waste.

Alistair Darling: I have regular discussions with the First Minister on a wide range of issues.

Energy

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister on Scotland's future energy needs.

Alistair Darling: I have regular discussions with the First Minister on a wide range of issues.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Election Turnout

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the estimated turnout at the last election was among voters from socio-economic groups D and E.

Harriet Harman: May 2005 general election turnout in social class DE was 54 per cent. This compares with AB turnout of 71 per cent. The turnout of socio-economic groups D and E was up by 1 per cent. from the 2001 general election (53 per cent.). However this was still the lowest turnout based on social status. Socio-economic groups A and B had the highest turnout (70 per cent.). This was up 2 per cent. on the 2001 general election.

Legal Advice

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will take steps to make it easier for the public to seek redress against lawyers for poor legal advice.

Bridget Prentice: I share my hon. Friend's concern hat people must be able to seek redress against lawyers where appropriate. In our White Paper The Future of Legal Services: Putting Consumers First" we set out proposals for an independent Office for Legal Complaints. This will be a direct point for all complaints about providers of legal services. Where things go wrong, it will provide full, fair and swift redress to the consumer.

House of Lords

James Brokenshire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what progress has been made with plans to change the powers of the House of Lords.

Harriet Harman: Our plans include clarifying the powers of the House of Lords to entrench the primacy of this House. We are seeking to set up a joint committee of both Houses to codify the powers of the second Chamber. We hope to be able to do so as soon as possible.

Electoral Registration

Diane Abbott: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of levels of electoral registration in London.

Harriet Harman: London has the worst voter registration levels in the country. Young people, people in rented accommodation, black and minority ethnic group hardest to register. Estimate over half a million Londoners not registered to vote.

Electoral Registration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what progress is being made in increasing electoral registration rates in the UK.

Harriet Harman: Electoral Administrators have carried out annual canvass and the results will be published in March when we will see the levels of registration in UK. The Electoral Administration Bill includes a new duty on electoral registration officers to take all necessary steps to ensure comprehensive registers and a number of other measures to improve registration

Electoral Registration

Jessica Morden: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what her estimate is of the number of 18 to 24-year-olds who are not on the latest electoral register.

Harriet Harman: The Electoral Commission's Understanding Electoral Registration" report provides a comprehensive analysis of registration rates and a detailed analysis of non-registration by age group. The report estimates that on 15 October 2000—the date on which the report's analysis is based—the levels of non-registration among all eligible 18 to 24-year-olds in England and Wales was 16 per cent.

National Mediation Helpline

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many people are employed at the National Mediation Helpline
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Bridget Prentice: The Department has funded one full-time operator to work on the National Mediation Helpline for a year. Up to three other trained operators are available, on a part-time basis, to handle calls at peak times.

Judicial Appointments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when the Secretary of State last met the Chairperson of the Judicial Appointments Commission to discuss judicial appointments; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and the Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission last met to discuss judicial appointments on 17 January 2006.
	Regarding a statement, I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made yesterday by my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of State. The Chairperson of the Judicial Appointments Commission and the Lord Chief Justice have both agreed this statement.

Legal Aid

Jim Cousins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will estimate the effect on legal aid costs of the Government's respect agenda.

Bridget Prentice: The legal aid implications of all new Government policy initiatives are assessed as part of the regulatory impact assessment process. This will apply to the range of policy initiatives departments will be ringing forward as part of the respect agenda.

Devolved Administrations (Ministerial Visits)

Ben Wallace: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether agreement to overseas visits by Ministers from devolved Administrations is sought from her Department.

Bridget Prentice: Such visits are a matter for the devolved Administrations, therefore agreement is not sought from my Department.

Cohabiting Couples' Rights

Barbara Follett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the merits of strengthening the rights of unmarried, cohabiting couples.

Bridget Prentice: The Department is funding several research projects on the legal rights of cohabitants and a review by the Law Commission. The Law Commission is considering how the law affects cohabiting couples on the termination of their relationship by separation, or death, and the merits of providing greater legal protection.

Council Tax Valuations

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what (a) information and (b) data the Land Registry has provided to the Valuation Office Agency for council tax valuations.

Bridget Prentice: HM Land Registry has provided property data to the Valuation Office Agency to enable it to verify the information underpinning the revaluation of properties. The data has been supplied solely for the purpose of validation of council tax and non-domestic rating valuations. Most of the property information provided is already in the public domain (for example the title number of the property, and the name of the registered proprietor).

Criminal Justice (Statistics)

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs why the Department has not published in 2005 under the provisions in section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 statistics on women and the criminal justice system.

Fiona Mactaggart: I have been asked to reply.
	Since much of the information in the section 95 publication for women is available from other sources, we have not published a separate volume in 2005. Relevant information is included in a number of statistical bulletins and regular briefs published by the Home Office which are all available on the Home Office website.
	We are presently looking at ways of making it easier for users to access this information by creating an area of the website focusing on women that provides links to the most recent data and research. This will allow users to select the most relevant data for their purpose.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Parliamentary Questions

Ben Chapman: To ask the Leader of the House whether he has made an assessment of the systems of tabling parliamentary questions during recesses operated by other parliaments.

Nigel Griffiths: No. However, he continues to remain open to representation from Members on this issue.

Regional Affairs Committee

Andrew George: To ask the Leader of the House what arrangements he is making for the Standing Committee on Regional Affairs to meet.

Nigel Griffiths: Appointment of the members of the Standing Committee on Regional Affairs under Standing Order No. 117 is under consideration.

Ministers' Speeches (Time Limits)

John Bercow: To ask the Leader of the House if he will ask the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commons to consider the merits of imposing a time limit on ministerial speeches.

Nigel Griffiths: This matter was considered by the Procedure Committee in the last Parliament. My right hon. Friend has no plans to raise it again with the Modernisation Committee.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Parliamentary Education Unit

Barbara Follett: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, what progress has been made towards implementing the recommendations of the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commons to improve the facilities available to the parliamentary education unit and send a new voters' guide to all young people on their 18th birthday; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: In response to the Modernisation Committee's recommendations, the Commission authorised the recruitment of dedicated outreach officers, two of whom were recruited to start work in the education unit in September 2005. Since their appointment they have been meeting other organisations involved in promoting and teaching citizenship to identify how Parliament can most effectively contribute to the teaching of political literacy. Over the coming months they will be travelling to local education authorities and schools around the country to gather ideas on how the services of the education unit can be delivered to young people who are currently unable to visit Parliament. This fieldwork, along with a draft outreach strategy, will be completed before the summer recess.
	In October 2004 the Commission authorised the extension of the education unit's autumn visits programme. Room A in 1 Parliament street has been equipped for presentations to school groups, in addition to the use of the Macmillan Room in Portcullis House, while an allocation of tickets in the public gallery has increased the opportunity for visiting groups to see the work of the House. To enable the unit to increase the number of school parties it can support on a daily basis, a new visits officer was appointed earlier this month with a second due to start in April. These changes will allow a further 20,000 young people each year to visit and learn more about the work of Parliament.
	The House authorised the Commission to take forward work on a guide for new voters in January 2005. Since then qualitative research with groups of young people has been undertaken by an external agency in order to find out what kind of guide would be most effective. Following a competitive exercise an external creative agency was then appointed to produce the guide. Draft versions of the guide are going to be presented to groups of young people—again, by an external agency with expertise in the field—to test their effectiveness and see how they can be improved. A revised draft guide will be produced in the light of that research and will be made available to the Modernisation and Administration Committees for comments. The Commission hopes to agree a final version of the guide soon, so that from the second half of 2006 the guide can thereafter be sent to young people on or around their eighteenth birthday. The guide is intended to encourage more new voters to make sure they are registered to vote and to use their votes in the next general election.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Acid Rain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to tackle acid rain.

Elliot Morley: Acid rain is the term given to precipitation which has been made acidic by airborne pollutants. It causes acidification of sensitive ecosystems, such as certain soils and freshwaters.
	Acid rain is a transboundary phenomenon, so the best way to tackle it is through international action. The UK has played a major role in the development of a succession of Protocols under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution to reduce the emissions that lead to acid rain. These emissions are also controlled through the EU National Emission Ceilings Directive.
	Much progress has been made over the last few decades in reducing the emissions that lead to acid rain, and progress continues: between 1990 and 2002, emissions of sulphur dioxide decreased by 73 per cent. and emissions of nitrogen oxides by 43 per cent. Emissions of ammonia reduced by 17 per cent.
	The Government support an extensive research programme to examine and understand the effects of acid rain on the environment, and there is now evidence of the beginnings of recovery in some of the most acid sensitive sites in the UK. But more remains to be done, and the Government continue to work in both the UNECE and the EU to ensure the next generation of international agreements will deliver further improvements in line with the principles of sustainable development.

Agricultural Produce (Description)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many types of agricultural produce have been required to change their name or description as a result of European regulations in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: This information is not held by Defra.

Animal Welfare Bill

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received on the Animal Welfare Bill from local charities, in relation to codes of conduct being implemented through secondary regulation.

Ben Bradshaw: We have received a number of representations on the Animal Welfare Bill and its accompanying codes of practice from a range of charities and organisations with an interest in animal welfare.

Audible Fire Alarms

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the premises occupied by her Department is fitted with audible fire alarms.

Jim Knight: Information is not collected in this form and an audit of the departmental estate could be conducted only at disproportionate public cost. The Department is committed to ensuring compliance with fire safety law in premises it occupies. That includes provision of fire detection and warning systems that are appropriate to the circumstances of the case.

Avian Influenza

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to require domestic birds kept in outdoor aviaries to be brought indoors in an outbreak of avian influenza in the United Kingdom.

Ben Bradshaw: If a case of H5N1 is found in Great Britain, British bird owners will be required to move their birds indoors as soon as possible while the disease is traced and controlled. In cases where housing is not practicable, keepers will be required to take all reasonable measures to minimise contact with wild birds.
	We will also carry out a risk assessment on the need to house birds if a case of H5N1 occurs in other EU member states or the East Atlantic flyway.

Battery Recycling

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what provisions are in place for the recycling of batteries in England.

Ben Bradshaw: In 2005, G&P Batteries opened a plant that processes portable/consumer batteries for recycling in the West Midlands. This is the first of its kind in England.
	The majority of waste industrial lead acid batteries in England are recycled at H.J. Enthoven & Sons in Derbyshire.
	There are no facilities for recycling nickel cadmium (NiCd) batteries, so NiCd batteries are separated for recycling in England and are exported to the SNAM facility in France for reprocessing.
	The principal UK mercury reprocessing facility that accepts button cells for treatment is Odin Technology based in Berkshire. Mercury Recycling in Manchester also processes spent button cells. The majority of spent silver oxide batteries are reprocessed by Engelhard Ltd.

Beef

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of when the export ban on British beef will be lifted following the cessation of the over-30-month scheme.

Ben Bradshaw: We cannot be sure when EU member states and the Commission will agree to lift the export ban. But we are working to achieve this as quickly as possible, and it could be as early as April.

Biodiversity Action Plan

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) was published in 1994 as part of the UK response to the Convention on Biological Diversity signed in Rio in 1992. Under the plan there are costed and targeted national action plans for 436 of our most threatened habitats and species in the UK. These are supported by approximately 150 local biodiversity action plans, often at county level.
	Progress on the UK BAP is reviewed every three years. Results from the most recently completed reporting round were published in UK Biodiversity Action Plan—tracking progress" in 2003.
	By the end of 2002, 26 per cent. of BAP species were either stable or increasing, and the rate of decline had slowed for a further 8 per cent. of species. 26 per cent. of habitats were either stable or increasing and the rate of those in decline had slowed by 31 per cent.
	Information for 2005 is currently being collated. This will address not only on how individual species and habitats are faring, but also emerging influences by sector and constraints to delivery. A report will be published in 2006. Notable successes of the UK BAP so far include genuine results for species like the corncrake, bittern, cirl bunting, field cricket, lady's slipper orchid and otters, and for habitats including cereal field margins and native pinewoods.
	In addition, the UK Biodiversity Partnership is currently undertaking a review of the targets set for UK priority species and habitats and a review of the UK priority lists themselves. We will publish new priorities, targets and plans for meeting our target of halting biodiversity loss by 2010, once these reviews have been completed.

Chicken Farming

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has made to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister concerning planning permission for new chicken farms near (a) residential areas and (b) schools.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 20 January 2006
	There have been no representations to the ODPM on such planning issues.

Climate Change

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of non-binding, as opposed to binding, climate change targets; and what assessment she has made of the impact of the Montreal climate change talks on this.

Elliot Morley: The agreement at Montreal illustrates the significant impact that the UK's leadership on climate change has on the rest of the world and is a hugely significant step in the global effort to tackle climate change. Despite the deep divisions of recent years, the whole global community including the United States, India and China have agreed to work together through the United Nations process to examine the way forward.
	The discussions on action beyond 2012 will be taken forward on two tracks:
	Developed country Kyoto parties (Annex I Parties) will consider further targets beyond 2012; and
	all countries under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (including all Kyoto parties, both Annex I and non-Annex I Parties such as China and India, plus non-parties including the US and Australia) have agreed to begin talks on the longer term future.
	These discussions will enable us to further consider the most effective way in which the UNFCCC objectives can be met through global participation.

Common Agricultural Policy

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on plans for further reform of the common agricultural policy; and when the single payment scheme will be implemented.

Jim Knight: EU Heads of State and Government agreed in December a proposal from the UK presidency for the Union's budget over 2007–13, including the common agricultural policy (CAP). That proposal included a provision allowing member states to voluntarily transfer up to 20 per cent. of their funding for CAP market support and direct payments to rural development. The Government have always supported moving funds in this direction, and will continue to do so. The agreement in December also contained a commitment to review all EU expenditure, including the CAP, in 2008–09. A debate has already begun ahead of that review. On 2 December, the Government made its first contribution to the debate, with the publication of a paper setting out the UK's vision for reform of the CAP. The Government are in ongoing discussions with other member states and other stakeholders about their views on that vision, and their own ideas for the future of the CAP.
	The single payment scheme has been implemented in the UK from 1 January 2005, with the Rural Payments Agency working towards a target date of commencing payments in February 2006.

Correspondence

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will reply to the letters of 31 October, 16 November and 28 November 2005 from the hon. Member for Morley and Rothwell on the Draft Magnox Decision Document.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 17 January 2006
	I apologise for the delay in replying to the hon. Member's letters of 31 October 2005 and 16 November 2005. A response will be sent shortly. This Department has no record of receiving your letter of 28 November 2005. If you would like to forward a copy, I shall arrange for a swift response.

Departmental Property

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) land and (b) property is owned by her Department in Castle Point.

Jim Knight: The Department does not own any land or property in Castle Point.

Departmental Staff

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many disciplinary actions against civil servants employed in her Department (a) were commenced and (b) resulted in a sanction being applied in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The numbers of disciplinary cases commenced and the numbers of sanctions applied in core-Defra for each calendar year since it was created on 9 June 2001 are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of cases Sanctions applied 
		
		
			 2001 9 Five 
			 2002 26 21 (plus three who resigned during the process) 
			 2003 12 Four (plus one who resigned during the process) 
			 2004 8 Seven 
			 2005 13 Eight (plus two who resigned during the process and two cases are ongoing) 
		
	
	The Civil Service Management Code sets out the requirements for Departments to have procedures in place to deal with conduct and disciplinary issues. The Defra procedures are laid down in the staff handbook which is accessed on the departmental intranet.

Emissions Trading

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the draft UK National Allocation Plan for Phase 2 of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme will set a target higher than that for phase 1.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 19 January 2006
	Phase 2 of the EU ETS coincides with the first Kyoto protocol commitment period (2008 to 2012), and national allocation plans for the second trading period will have a significant part to play in ensuring that the EU meets its targets under the protocol.
	Further guidance from the European Commission was issued on 9 January 2006, and is currently being assessed.
	A draft NAP will be published this spring, outlining Government proposal on a number of issues including the phase 2 cap.

Emissions Trading

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date she expects to publish the draft National Allocation Plan for Phase 2 of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 19 January 2006
	The Commission has recently published further guidance on the preparation of national allocation plans (NAPs) and member states' approaches to the second phase. We are assessing the impact of the guidance on the development of policy options and on the overall phase 2 timetable, but intend to publish a draft policy NAP this spring.

Endangered Species

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many endangered species of plant and animal there are in the UK; and how much was directed at preventing them from extinction in each year since 2000.

Jim Knight: Based on World Conservation Union criteria, published UK Red Data Books and domestic species reviews there are currently 2,661 endangered species of plants and animals in the UK. Although annual data is not available, I can confirm that approximately £692 million has been spent, since 2000, to help prevent the extinction of these species in the UK.

Environmental Research Projects

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding the Government has provided in 2005–06 for environmental research projects.

Elliot Morley: Government spending on research into environmental matters comes from a range of sources. The Department's research budget is allocated to specific Directorate Generals, and within each budget there will be specific projects addressing questions about the environment. The allocated research spend for 2005–06 for the Department, by Directorate General, is as follows:
	
		
			 Directorate general £000 
		
		
			 Environment Protection 55,787 
			 Science Economics and Statistics 9,659 
			 Natural Resources and Rural Affairs 8,306 
			 Sustainable Food, Farming and Fisheries 44,258 
			 Animal Health and Welfare 38,831 
		
	
	In addition, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is responsible for supporting basic, strategic and applied environmental research and related postgraduate training in the UK. The Department for Trade and Industry has allocated some £371 million to NERC for expenditure in 2005–06.
	Finally, the Department for Trade and Industry also contributes funding directly to research with environmental objectives. Over the three years 2004–05 to 2006–07 £370 million is available for Collaborative Research and Development through the Department for Trade and Industry Technology Programme. Of this, £50 million—derived from the Department's BREW (Business Resource Efficiency and Waste) programme—is explicitly focused on resource efficiency and waste technologies.
	In the 2005–06 period, DTI has committed £30 million to projects which will cover clean production, waste minimisation, design and manufacture of sustainable products and contaminated land assessment and remediation, and has also allocated £20 million to low carbon energy technologies.
	DTI also provided funding for Grants for Research andDevelopment, delivered through the Regional Development Agencies in the period 2005–06, which includes enabling environmental industries to successfully investigate environmental technologies, although it is not currently possible to separate out this expenditure.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the Government's domestic carbon dioxide target she expects to be met as a result of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme; and what methodology will be used to calculate the scheme's effects.

Elliot Morley: The Government are currently considering the total level of allowances (the cap) for the second phase of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the proportion that the scheme should contribute to the UK's 2010 carbon dioxide goal. An announcement will be made in due course.
	The overall effect of the scheme may be determined by the level of effort (emissions reductions) asked of the trading sector, which is the difference between the cap and business as usual emissions projections.

Farmers (Qualifications/Migration)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers are (a) aged under 30 years, (b) hold degree level qualifications, (c) have moved to the UK after being farmers in another European country and (d) have moved to the UK after being farmers in another non-European country.

Jim Knight: The closest available information from the EC Farm Structure Survey indicates that:
	(a) 3 per cent. of UK farm holders (approximately 9,000) in 2003 were aged under 35 years.
	(b) 11 per cent. of UK farm holder managers (approximately 22,000) in 2000 (the latest year in which training questions were asked) had undertaken formal courses lasting two years or more.
	Unfortunately we hold no data on holders moving to Britain from other European or non-European countries.
	Notes:
	1. The EC Farm Structure Survey is held across all member states of the European Union four times each decade, to assess the agricultural situation across the Community and to monitor trends in the structure of holdings.
	2. The holder is defined as the (natural or legal) person in whose name the holding is operated. The holder can either own or rent the holding, be a hereditary long-term leaseholder, or a usufructuary or a trustee.
	3. Holder managers are only those holders who manage the holding. Holders refers to all holders whether or not they are the manager of the holding.

Habitat Destruction

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to seek to insert a provision into the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill to increase the fines given for the illegal destruction of habitat; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: There are no plans to introduce measures into the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill to increase the fines for offences involving the destruction of habitats.
	However, the Bill does include measures that will help with effective enforcement action. Clause 52, for example, extends the time limits for bringing summary proceedings, including for offences that involve damage to sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) . This will allow more time to secure sufficient evidence.
	In addition, clause 54 introduces a new offence of intentionally or recklessly destroying or damaging the special interest features of a SSSI, or disturbing its fauna. This will not require proof that the offender knew the land involved had SSSI status and will therefore support more effective enforcement against damage to habitats in these sites where proving the state of knowledge of the offender can be difficult to achieve.

Habitats Directive

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether populations of (a) white-clawed crayfish, (b) medicinal leech, (c) pearl mussel, (d) large blue butterfly and (e) noble crayfish in the UK have Favourable Condition Status as defined by the EU Habitats Directive 1992.

Jim Knight: The concept and delivery of favourable conservation status is central to the implementation of the EU habitats directive. A broad definition of the term favourable conservation status is given in the habitats directive, but there remains a lack of clarity in the interpretation of this term or the means by which to implement it. The European Commission plans to produce supplementary guidance later this year and the UK is supporting work to draft this guidance.
	Member states are required to report on their implementation of the habitats directive every six years. The next report is required in 2007, and this will cover the period from 2000 to 2006. For the first time, this will also include reports on the conservation status of listed habitats and species.
	The UK has already started work to gather and assess current status and then to assess whether it is favourable. No formal decisions have yet been made.
	The Noble crayfish Astracus astracus, while listed in Annex V of the habitats directive, is not ordinarily resident in the UK. As it is an introduced species, the UK will not be reporting on the status of this species. Under section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as amended it is, in fact, an offence to release this species into the wild.

Habitats Directive

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to minimise the length of time necessary for the identification of species potentially at risk and their addition to the EU Habitats Directive 1992; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The procedure for amending the annexes of the habitats directive is set out in Article 19 of the directive. The UK has not considered taking steps to alter the annexes through this procedure.

Horse Tethering

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what legislation action can be taken against those responsible for cruel tethering of horses; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Protection Against Cruel Tethering Act 1988 created a specific offence under the Protection of Animals Act 1911 of causing unnecessary suffering to a horse, ass or mule by the manner or condition of its tethering. The maximum penalty for an offence under the 1911 Act is a fine of £5,000 or six months' imprisonment, or both.
	The Animal Welfare Bill will introduce a positive duty to ensure the welfare of animals, and powers to act before an animal suffers.

Lynx

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has had discussions on the reintroduction of the lynx to the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: I have had no discussions on the reintroduction of the lynx in the UK. The release of animal species into the wild that are no longer native to Great Britain, such as the Eurasian lynx, is controlled by section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
	Section 16 of the Act gives the Secretary of State powers to grant licences for releasing animals. However, these are only issued for soundly reasoned and specific purposes, supported by a detailed scientific risk assessment. Applicants who wish to submit proposals must also comply with international legislation and guidance.
	Permission to re-introduce a species in England needs to be based on proper scientific evidence. And it would only be granted after proper consultation with the public.

Oil Spills

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many significant oil spills there were in UK waters in the last seven years; where each took place; and how much oil was estimated to have been discharged in each case.

Elliot Morley: On behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), the Advisory Committee on the Protection of the Sea (ACOPS) conduct annual surveys of reported discharges attributed to vessels and offshore oil and gas installations operating in the United Kingdom pollution control zone. Annual reports for the years 1999 to 2004 are available on the MCA and ACOPS internet sites as follows. The report for 2005 is not yet available.
	http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga-environmental/mcga-dops_cp_environmental-counter-pollution.htm
	http://www.acops.org/UK_Survey.htm.
	Information on oil pollution from other sources from 2002 to 2005 is available from the Environment Agency's incident recording system. 73 category 1 (the most serious) oil pollution incidents were recorded over this period. I am arranging for details to be placed in the Library, where the Environment Agency's pollution incident reports for the years 2000 and before can also be found.

Paper Usage

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what policy her Department has on minimising (a) waste paper and (b) paper usage within her Department.

Jim Knight: All DEFRA sites monitor the amount of waste generated. An annual target of at least 1 per cent. reduction in waste generated is incorporated in site-based Environmental Management Systems. Particular attention is given to paper use and paper waste, which forms a significant proportion of departmental waste. A number of strategies are in place to achieve reductions in paper use and waste, including increasing internet-based and electronic publication of documents, and improved printer efficiency.

Pesticides

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers were found to be using banned pesticides in the last five years.

Elliot Morley: Between 2001 and 2005 two farmers were successfully prosecuted for using a pesticide which was not approved for that use.

PR Companies

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the public relations companies that have had contracts with (a) her Department, (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which her Department is responsible and (c) independent statutory bodies, organisations and bodies financially sponsored by her Department and other such organisations since May 1997.

Jim Knight: The Department came into being in July 2001.
	The Communications Directorate of Defra has no formal contract with public relation companies and uses the Central Office of Communications when such services are required.
	For the level of expenditure on these services commissioned through the Communications Directorate of Defra I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 December 2005, Official Report, column 2385W.
	Information on contracts for each of the Department's non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, independent statutory bodies, organisations and bodies financially sponsored by the Department is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Radioactively Contaminated Land

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what opportunities interested institutions and individuals will have to comment on the draft radioactively contaminated land exposure assessment.

Elliot Morley: Interested stakeholders have had two opportunities to comment on the proposals. The first, which covered the overall scope and approach of RCLEA, was held between May and June 2005. The second covering the ease with which the RCLEA methodology can be understood and applied is currently underway and is available on the Defra website.

Red Kite/Great Bustard

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on the reintroduction of (a) the Red Kite and (b) the Great Bustard; and what the Government's contribution to these projects has been to date.

Jim Knight: The Red Kite Reintroduction Programme has involved the release of 292 young red kites in four separate areas of England between 1989 and 2005. It has been a great success with breeding populations now well established in three different areas; in 2005 an estimated 385 pairs were breeding in these areas. Similar work has been carried out in Scotland as part of the same programme and breeding populations have now been established at three Scottish sites; in 2005 there were an estimated 75 breeding pairs.
	English Nature and RSPB coordinate work on the Reintroduction Programme in England, working with a range of different partners in each of the release areas. Much of the funding is provided by external partners and sources such as the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Landfill Tax Credits Scheme. English Nature has contributed approximately £20,000 per year to the programme, as well as providing considerable staff time for those involved in the work. Gateshead council has committed £250,000 over five years for the Northern Kites project. And the Forestry Commission is a key partner in two of the projects in England, providing staff time for educational work and for monitoring birds.
	The Great Bustard Reintroduction Project has involved the release of 54 birds on Salisbury Plain since 2004. Of these, 27 were known to be surviving in the wild as of October last year. The fate of a further three birds was unknown (although they were assumed to be alive and living wild).
	The Great Bustard Project is run by a private consortium made up of a group of dedicated enthusiasts and the University of Stirling. The Department contributed an initial £10,000, but the rest of the funding is provided by private sponsorship and from the Sustain The Plain" LEADER+ project.

Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of  Chemicals Directive

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what measures will be in place under the Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Directive to monitor chemicals contained in products imported from outside the EU; and whether imported products which contain one of the substances defined by the Commission as being 'of very high concern' will be banned from sale;
	(2)  what methods the European Chemicals Agency will use to determine which of the chemicals covered by the Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Directive will need to be tested; and what input national Governments will have in this procedure;
	(3)  what safety data chemical manufacturers will need to supply under the Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Directive;
	(4)  how consumers will be informed about the relative safety of chemical products once the Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Directive comes into force.

Elliot Morley: On 13 December 2005 the UK presidency achieved political agreement on the proposed Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH). Based on the agreed text, substances imported in articles (i.e. finished products) only require registration if the substances are intended to be released from articles and where they are present above one tonne. Otherwise importers need to notify the authorities only if the article contains a substance of very high concern. The agency may request the registration of any substance in an article if it poses a risk to human health or the environment. The UK Government will appoint a competent authority who will be responsible for the monitoring and enforcement of these provisions in conjunction with other UK bodies as appropriate.
	All substances manufactured or imported into the EU above one tonne will have to register with the European Chemicals Agency. The registration of a substance involves the submission of a technical dossier of information about the chemical including a testing package. The testing requirements are outlined in Annexes IV to IX of the regulation. To avoid duplicate testing and minimise the cost to industry, sharing of animal test data is mandatory. To simplify the system, the sharing of non animal data has been made mandatory if requested by a potential registrant. Reduced registration requirements apply to substances manufactured below 10 tonnes. Only substances meeting one of the criteria in Annex Ic need to provide the full testing package outlined in Annex V of the regulation. It will be up to companies to identify whether a substance meets these criteria. A key part of the REACH proposal is that the onus is placed on industry (not the European Chemicals Agency or national Government) to identify the appropriate registration requirements and any additional testing that is required. Guidance will be available and a national help desk will be set up to assist industry in meeting these requirements. In addition, the UK competent authority could, under contract to the agency, conduct dossier evaluations to assess the testing proposals submitted.
	For substances supplied in quantities over 10 tonnes, the registration package also requires the submission of a chemical safety report. This is a risk assessment in which the registrant takes into account the risk management measures required for the safe handling of the chemical. Details of these requirements are found in Annex I of the regulation.
	To inform consumers and the public, basic data held by the European Chemicals Agency about a registered substance, such as its classification and labelling, the results of environmental and health impact studies and guidance on the safe use of a substance, will be made publicly available over the internet. The UK will also explore other approaches through other consumer information services such as Environment Direct.

Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of  Chemicals Directive

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what regulatory impact assessments the Government has commissioned for the Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Directive;
	(2)  what estimates she has made of the overall cost in the UK of implementing the Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Directive; who will bear the costs; how she expects they will be met; and what assessment she has made of whether there will be a cost to UK industry in terms of competitiveness.

Elliot Morley: Within the UK, the draft regulation on the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) was subject to a partial regulatory impact assessment in 2004 which estimated the direct cost to UK industry to be in the region of £515 million over the 11 year implementation period. A further impact assessment was carried out in 2005, which examined the indirect impacts for some downstream sectors. This concluded that the potential annual costs of REACH to the sectors studied were relatively low under most of the scenarios examined, with only worst case assumptions giving rise to significant costs.
	One of the factors limiting the costs of REACH in the case studies is the large volume of information already available for a significant number of the bulk chemicals acting as inputs to the manufacturing process.
	Across the EU, REACH has been subject to over 50 regulatory impact assessments. This includes the European Commission's extended impact assessment of October 2003, which estimated that changes made to its draft proposals could save up to €10.6 billion (around £7.5 billion). The Commission also carried out a further impact assessment in 2005 in partnership with industry, trade unions, consumer and environmental organisations.
	The considerable amount of work carried out in assessing the impact of the REACH proposals has been invaluable in determining costs and benefits, and in informing the negotiations.
	On 13 December 2005 the UK presidency achieved political agreement on a REACH text. This includes a number of measures aimed to reduce the cost of REACH-such as 'one substance, one registration', reduced registration requirements for substances manufactured or imported in quantities less than 10 tonnes and the removal of an expensive test in the 10–100 tonnage band. The UK Government will update its impact assessment to reflect the changes made in the agreed text. An updated impact assessment is expected in 2006.

Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of  Chemicals Directive

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the change in the number of animals across the EU each year which will be required for animal testing when the Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Directive comes into force; and what steps have been taken to reduce the numbers of animals required for testing via (a) alternative methods of testing and (b) data sharing.

Elliot Morley: There have been no estimates made of the number of animals required for testing per year across the EU when the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation comes into force, not least since it is not possible to predict in advance the precise timing of any testing carried out by or for registrants. The total number of additional test animals needed as a consequence of the introduction of the regulation has been estimated by the Commission at £3.9 million based on the Commission's original proposal. The text of the Political Agreement of December 2005 goes further still in minimising the amount of animal testing required, for example through the incorporation of One Substance, One Regulation" (OSOR), a UK proposal with strong rules on the mandatory sharing of animal test data by companies.
	The Commission's interim strategy during the implementation stages of REACH will focus on developing guidance, through REACH Implementation Projects (RIPs), on information requirements on intrinsic properties of substances, aiming in particular at developing integrated testing strategies based on alternative methods of testing which will allow the minimum use of test animals. The RIPs are supported by the UK in providing expertise to the RIP project teams and by funding specific research into developing alternative methods.

Roman Snail

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the number of roman snail (helix pomatia) in the UK; and what measures have been taken to prevent further depletion of their numbers by collectors for the restaurant trade.

Jim Knight: The roman snail is a non-native species to the UK. However, we recognise that as European populations have been reduced, the British population may be important in terms of conservation of the species as a whole.
	In southern England, for example, the species remains quite common in many parts of the chalk downs. But there are some areas where commercial collecting for the restaurant trade is a problem.
	The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland has put the roman snail forward for inclusion in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) as part of the on-going review of listed species. A decision is expected later this year. The BAP provides a framework to monitor, health check and safeguard important species and habitats.

Snares

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what testing of snares for catching wildlife her Department is carrying out; and what trials are planned.

Jim Knight: A new snares code of practice was launched on 19 October, with a strong emphasis on animal welfare when people are considering their use.
	The new code is an important step forward in improving the use of snares. It provides important guidance to ensure that snares are only used where necessary, and that welfare considerations are properly weighed against the benefits of snaring.
	In addition, Defra is continuing its work to develop increasingly humane and non-lethal methods of pest control, and considering research to assess snares against the standards set out in the proposed Humane Trapping Standards Directive.
	Defra's only current testing or research into snares for catching wildlife is research into restraining badgers using body snares. The aim of this is to inform a decision on culling methods that would be both effective and humane if we were to decide that culling of badgers was needed. No decisions on whether or not to cull badgers will be made until after the consultation on Controlling the spread of bovine tuberculosis in cattle in high incidence areas in England: badger culling" closes on 10 March 2006. Further details can be found at: http://www.defra.gov.ukcorporate/consult/badgers-tbcontrols/index.htm

UN Environment Programme (Nairobi)

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which (a) Ministers and (b) Departmental officials will attend the special trades union assembly of the United Nations environment programme in Nairobi from 14 to 17 January; and if she will place in the Library copies of the United Kingdom submissions to this assembly.

Elliot Morley: The UK was represented by the UK's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme (based at the British High Commission, Nairobi). No UK Ministers attended this event. The UK did not make any submissions to the Assembly. The Assembly agreed a 'Framework for Action', which will be available on the Assembly's website: http://www.will2006.org/assembly.php

Warm Front

Shahid Malik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many pensioner households in Dewsbury constituency are eligible for (a) Warm Front grants to install energy efficient measures and (b) (i) free and (ii) reduced cost installation of central heating systems.

Elliot Morley: Detailed information on the number of pensioner households in the Dewsbury constituency eligible for either (a) a Warm Front Grant or (b) (i) free and (ii) reduced cost installation of central heating systems is not available.
	Warm Front provides a range of heating and insulation measures to householders in receipt of certain qualifying benefits, up to a grant maximum of £2,700 (£4,000 where oil central heating is recommended). For full qualification criteria and more information about the Scheme, please visit www.eaga.co.uk.
	Delivery arrangements for the support announced in the pre-Budget report of a £300 contribution towards the cost of a central heating system, for pensioner households not eligible for the Warm Front Scheme, are being developed and finalised. Further details will be announced in the coming months.

Warm Front

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many pensioner households in the Tamworth constituency are eligible for (a) warm front grants to install energy efficiency measures and (b) (i) free and (ii) reduced cost installation of central heating systems.

Elliot Morley: Detailed information on the number of pensioner households in the Tamworth constituency eligible for either (a) a warm front grant or (b) (i) free and (ii) reduced cost installation of central heating systems is not available.
	Warm front provides a range of heating and insulation measures to householders in receipt of certain qualifying benefits, up to a grant maximum of £2,700 (£4,000 where oil central heating is recommended). For full qualification criteria and more information about the scheme, please visit www.eaga.co.uk.
	Delivery arrangements for the support announced in the pre-Budget report of a £300 contribution towards the cost of a central heating system, for pensioner households not eligible for the warm front scheme, are being developed and finalised. Further details will be announced in the coming months.

Waste Heat (Capture)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she istaking to encourage the capture of waste heat to be fedinto district heating systems; what percentage of such heat was captured in this way in the last period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 23 January 2006
	Defra's key support for district heating is through the Community Energy programme, which has encouraged and supported innovative schemes. This includes four schemes that will capture an estimated 20,000 megawatt hours of waste heat per annum. This cannot be expressed in percentage terms as we do not collect figures on the total amount of heat wasted. The Carbon Trust has launched Project Bolt to examine the potential for the commercialisation of projects linking providers and purchasers of waste heat.

Wildlife Crime

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  which UK-based internet service providers (ISPs) the National Wildlife Crime Intelligence Unit has been working with; when discussions have taken place between the Unit and ISPs; and which of the ISPs have made commitments to combat the illegal trade in endangered species as a consequence of such discussions;
	(2)  what commitment eBay has made to the National Wildlife Crime Intelligence Unit to combat the illegal trade in endangered species on its website.

Jim Knight: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 January 2006, Official Report, column 907W.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Expenditure

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been spent in each year since 1997 by his Department on salaries paid to civil servants.

Gareth Thomas: Prior to 2005, DFID outsourced its payroll function to the Pay and Personnel Agency, part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD). We do not therefore readily hold information down to the level requested and to give the figures for spend on salaries as requested would therefore incur disproportionate costs.
	We do hold information from 1999 onwards on Staff Costs" which we report against in our resource accounts. These costs include salary and allowances paid to civil servants, contract staff and staff employed overseas:
	
		
			  Staff costs (excluding social security costs) (£000) Percentage of total budget 
		
		
			 1999–2000 35,440 1.60 
			 2000–01 37,452 1.48 
			 2001–02 38,649 1.57 
			 2002–03 51,896 1.86 
			 2003–04(1) 70,440 2.45 
			 2004–05(1) 79,643 2.44 
		
	
	(1) Excludes other pension costs

Pension Costs

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of pension contributions incurred by (a) his Department and (b) each (i) non-departmental public body, (ii) Executive agency and (iii) other public body for which he is responsible in (A) Scotland, (B) Wales, (C) each of the English regions and (D) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06.

Gareth Thomas: The cost of pension contributions incurred by the Department for International Development is as follows:
	
		£
		
			 Financial year Total employers contributions (ASLCs) paid to the PCSPS (Classic, Classic plus, Premium) Total employers partnership contributions paid to the partnership providers (Scottish Widows, Standard Life, TUC) Employers contributions to the PCSPS to cover death in service and ill health benefits of partnership optants (0.8 per cent.) 
		
		
			 2002–03 6,803,325.89 (2)0 (2)0 
			 2003–04 7,673,693.84 33,332.12 2,099.49 
			 2004–05 8,506,262.87 117,729.30 6,482.41 
			 2005–06(3) 12,045,756.00 129,397.32 8,807.88 
		
	
	(2) DFID's first partnership option was made in May 2003, therefore no partnership contributions were made during 2002–03. There are only 30 members of the Partnership Pension Scheme. The figures in column four are payments to the Civil Superannuation Vote in respect of risk relating to death in service/ill health benefits for the Partnership Pension Scheme.
	(3) Projected figures.
	For 2005–06, employers' contributions are payable to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) at one of four rates in the ranges 16.2 to 24.6 per cent. of pensionable pay, based on salary bands. The scheme actuary reviews employer contributions every four years following a full scheme valuation; last carried out as at 31 March 2003. The contribution rates reflect the cost of benefits as they accrue (net of employee contributions), not the costs as they are actually incurred, and reflect past experience of the scheme.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development is not responsible for any non-departmental public bodies, Executive agencies or any other public body.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Jo Martinson

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General if he will take steps to ensure disciplinary action is taken against those in the Crown Prosecution Service responsible for the failure to bring to court the case of the death of Jo Martinson.

Mike O'Brien: This case has been the subject of previous correspondence between the Director of Public Prosecutions and the hon. Member. The Crown Prosecution Service considers that the case referred to was handled appropriately, and therefore, the question of disciplinary action does not arise.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Schemes

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what publicly-funded support is being provided to schemes to promote Islamic talent in the arts; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: Arts Council England does not make funding decisions based on an applicant's religion. It funds artistic practice according to strategic priorities and on the basis of artistic merit. However, it may fund artists for whom Islam happens to be a part of their artistic inspiration. The Arts Council has supported an extremely diverse range of young artists, some of which are Islamic, through an inclusive approach.
	One of the Arts Council's priorities is to encourage funding applications from people from a diverse range of backgrounds, and in many regions it is, where possible, facilitating community programmes and encouraging artists to apply for funds through the Grants for the Arts (GfA) programme.
	There are some excellent case studies such as the West Midlands artist called Mohammed Ali. Mohammed received a GfA grant of just under £10,000 to undertake an exhibition of art work in Dubai titled Salam in the City. This exhibition is to be held late February/early March 2006.
	Ulfah Arts has also received a GfA award of around £13,000 to support the development of their organisation, which encourages increased engagement in the arts for women across all faith groups but with a particular focus on Islam.
	Pillars of Light, a year long programme across the Yorkshire and Humber region, aims to explore interactions between Muslim cultures and other cultures, within the context of their heritage and contemporary reality. Events throughout 2006 will focus on the visual arts, literature, film, music and theatre. Pillars of Light is being funded through Yorkshire's 'Illuminate' Urban Cultural programme, which is in turn being funded through the Arts Council and the Millennium Commission. Alchemy Anew, an Islamic Arts charity funded directly by the Arts Council, is coordinating it. Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust are one of the key participating organisations in Pillars of Light and are currently hosting the Palace and Mosque" exhibition on loan from the V&A museum.
	Another exciting project is the innovative and ambitious new cultural building being created by Rich Mix to serve London's many communities. The building work is currently underway in Tower Hamlets, which is one of the most deprived areas in the country and has 48 per cent. ethnic minority population, the majority of which is Bangladeshi and Muslim. Rich Mix, due to open in spring 2006, combines workshop and performance spaces, managed workspaces for creative industries, training and education spaces and houses a three screen cinema. Rich Mix has raised £23 million from funders, including the Arts Council and the London Development Agency.

Arts Schemes

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what publicly-funded support is being provided to schemes to promote young Asian talent in the arts; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: There is an enormous amount of work going on in the arts sector that helps to promote young Asian talent. The Arts Council has not delivered programmes specifically for the benefit of talented young artists from any particular religion or ethnicity, but has supported an extremely diverse range of young artists through an inclusive approach. One of its priorities is to encourage funding applications from people from a range of backgrounds. In many regions it is, where possible, facilitating community programmes and encouraging artists to apply for funds through the Grants for the Arts (GfA) programme. Furthermore, schemes such as Creative Partnerships and the Arts Award reach many young Asian people.
	The innovative and ambitious new cultural building being created by Rich Mix will serve London's many communities. The building work is currently underway in Tower Hamlets, which is one of the most deprived areas in the country and has 48 per cent. ethnic minority population, the majority of which is Bangladeshi. Rich Mix, due to open in spring 2006, combines workshop and performance spaces, managed workspaces for creative industries, training and education spaces and houses a three screen cinema. Rich Mix has raised £23 million from funders, including the Arts Council and the London Development Agency.
	Another exciting project is the Bernie Grant Centre, which is currently being built in Tottenham, North London. A £14 million funding package including £6 million from the Millennium Commission and £3.5 million from London Development Agency has been awarded to transform the former Tottenham swimming baths into a major performance and education centre fostering and showcasing local and national artistic talent. Black and minority ethnic communities in particular will benefit from the training and business prospects that the Bernie Grant Centre will bring.
	The Inspire Fellowship programme is an initiative devised by the Arts Council in order to address the under-representation of Black African, Caribbean, Chinese, South Asian and south-east Asian curators in the museums and galleries sector. Successful candidates receive high quality training and a bursary of £30,000 to £42,000 (depending on experience) over a two year period.
	There are numerous examples of projects funded by the Arts Council that promote young Asian talent in all of the art forms. For example, Decibel Performing Arts Showcases is a programme aimed at significantly developing diversity in the arts in England and seeks to increase the profile of culturally diverse arts practice. The 2007 showcase will be held in Birmingham.
	Examples of music organisations which are funded by the Arts Council, and are dedicated to working with Asian young people include, Asian Dub Foundation, SAMPAD (a South Asian Arts development agency), South Asian Arts UK, Milap Festival Trust and The National South Asian Youth Orchestra.
	Arts Council England regularly funds South Asian dance companies Shobana Jeyasingh and Akram Khan, and a number of others such as Angika, Sankalpam and Mavin Khoo on a project basis. These companies provide essential role models and beacons of aspiration for young Asian talent All these companies provide education and outreach work. The Arts Council also funds the South Asian dance website, SADA, and the magazine, PULSE.
	There are Asian visual artists in the Arts Council Collection (i.e. Sutapa Biswas, Chila Burman, Zarina Bhimji) and the work of Asian artists is promoted through funding for publications such as Third Text. The Arts Council also established the Institute of International Visual Artists, (inlVA) London in 1994 to take forward the advocacy and support of culturally diverse artists, especially artists of the diaspora.
	In addition to receiving funding through GfA, Asian writers receive funding through the International Fellowships programme. An example is Nadeem Aslam who was a recent International Fellow at the Santa Maddalena Centre in Italy. The Arts Council also run the Positive Action Traineeships—placing young people from black, Asian and Chinese backgrounds in publishing houses to gain experience of the industry over a year/six months. Two out of five current trainees are of Asian background.

BBC (Transmitter Sale)

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much revenue the BBC received from the sale of its transmitters.

Richard Caborn: The BBC sold its Home Service Transmission business in 1997 to Castle Transmission Services. The price agreed for the business was £244 million.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Apprenticeships

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what criteria must be satisfied before the Learning and Skills Council fund a national industry-specific apprenticeship scheme;
	(2)  what duty there is on local learning and skills councils to work together to support an apprenticeship scheme which operates in different parts of the country but is not supported by the Learning and Skills Council nationally.

Phil Hope: holding answer 23 January 2006
	The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) only funds apprenticeship programmes that use a framework approved through a process managed by the Sector Skills Development Agency. The learning provider must also meet the LSC quality criteria. Funding is routed either through the LSC's local offices or its National Employer Service (NES) which awards national contracts for large multi-site employers. The basic criteria for awarding of a NES contract are that the business has 5,000 or more employees and that it is has the capacity to deliver at least 200 learner places. Programmes delivered through national contracts can cover a single apprenticeship or industry framework, or a number of them. Around a quarter of apprenticeships are covered by NES contracts.
	Where an employer or learning provider does not meet the criteria for a contract with the NES but does operate across local LSC boundaries alternative simplified contracting arrangements should apply. These can include a contract with a lead local LSC to cover one of the nine LSC regions or where a provider is multi-regional a national lead can be designated.

Business Involvement (Schools)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to encourage the involvement of local business in schools in Staffordshire; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Hope: We have allocated £25 million a year to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) since 2002–03 to support a range of school business links activities, including in Staffordshire. These include professional development placements for teachers, work experience and mentoring for young people, and enterprise activities. Nationally there are 300,000 employers working with schools. The local Staffordshire Education Business Partnership is called 'Business and Education Together Ltd'.

Child Care

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of those working in child care were qualified at NVQ levels (a) 2, (b) 3, (c) 4 and (d) 5 in each year for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: Figures are available for 2001 and 2002/03 and are taken from the Childcare and Early Years Workforce surveys for those years. The information collected for the surveys did not distinguish between NVQ levels 4 and 5.
	
		Percentage
		
			  NVQ level 
			  2 3 4/5 
		
		
			 2001 11.8 42.0 9.3 
			 2002/03 8.3 50 10.8 
		
	
	Note:
	These average percentages are based on percentage estimates of the distribution of qualifications across workers in the four main types of child care setting: full day care, playgroups, child minders and sessional care.

Child Care

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) men and (b) women were working in child care in each year since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: Since 1997 we have published three surveys of the child care work force. The gender split of the work force in the three surveys is as follows:
	
		
			  Men Women 
		
		
			 1998 4,400 234,100 
			 2001 6,200 268,300 
			 2002/03 5,900 273,200 
		
	
	As the figures show, the child care work force continues to be predominantly female, with women making up some 98 per cent. of the work force in 2002/03.

Children's Centres

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she (a) has made and (b) plans to make of the effectiveness of children's centres; and if she will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: In spring 2006 we will publish guidance which will advise local authorities how we plan to measure the quality and effectiveness of children's centres.
	In addition, a comprehensive evaluation of children's centres is planned to begin in 2006. It is likely the evaluation will look at the implementation and cost effectiveness of children's centres as well as assess their impact on child and family outcomes over the short, medium and long term.

Children's Centres

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  which (a) private (b) voluntary and (c) public sector organisations have delivered services in children's centres in each year for which information is available;
	(2)  in which constituencies children's centres are located;
	(3)  what targets she has set for expanding the number of children's centres; and what progress has been made towards meeting those targets.

Beverley Hughes: My Department does not collect information on the location of children's centres by constituency. The Department does, however, have a list of designated Sure Start Children's Centres in each local authority and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Our target is to establish 2,500 Sure Start Children's Centres by March 2008 and 3,500 by March 2010, representing one for every community. At present there are 466 designated Sure Start Children's Centres.
	A range of private, voluntary and public sector organisations deliver services for children's centres, but information on each is not collected centrally.

Construction Apprentices

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many construction apprentices there are in England, broken down by trade.

Phil Hope: We do not hold information in the form requested. However, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) have calculated statistics on the total numbers of learners on apprenticeships overall and in construction in particular. In 2004/05 1 a total of 411.2 thousand learners were funded by the LSC on apprenticeships, of which 95.9 thousand were classified as construction area-of-learning (AOL) from a total of 14 categories.
	Alternatively apprenticeships can be recorded in terms of the average number of learners over the year or at particular points in the year. For apprenticeships overall in 2004/05 the average number of learners on apprenticeships was 255.8 thousand, with a total number in learning in July 2005 of 252.3 thousand. More detail on the apprenticeship frameworks (of which there are currently over 100 and growing) pursued by the 252.3 thousand learners in July 2005 is published by the LSC on the internet via:
	http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/partners/frameworks/apprenticeshipsdata/
	1 From 1 August 2004 to 21 July 2005.

Degrees

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations she has received from business on the irrelevance to employment of certain degree subjects; and if she will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: A search of my Department's correspondence database has identified no such representations from business. However, I can confirm that my Department does have frequent and open dialogue with employers, business representatives and higher education institutions to ensure better alignment of the supply of higher level knowledge and skills with business needs. This is being achieved through the promotion of greater collaboration between business and higher education institutions. Sector skills councils, working with lifelong learning networks and organisations like Foundation Degree Forward, the HE Academy and regional development agencies—have been set up to ensure their business needs are being met.

Enterprise and Entrepreneurism

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to expand the teaching of enterprise and entrepreneurism in schools in Staffordshire; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The Department has allocated £60 million a year for the three academic years from September 2005 to support a new focus on enterprise education in all secondary schools in England. Fair Oak High School and Walton High School in Staffordshire were among the 700 schools which participated in our Enterprise Education Pathfinder programme that looked at various ways of delivering enterprise education and helped to produce our national guidance on enterprise education. The guidance is available at www.teachernet.gov.uk/enterpriseeducation to support other schools in developing and improving their own practice. The Department is deciding with key partners how to offer further support to schools in the coming year.

Free School Milk

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will assess the merits of supplying free milk to secondary schools.

Jacqui Smith: We have no plans to assess the current availability of free milk in secondary schools.
	There is no statutory requirement for milk to be provided in local authority maintained schools. It is a matter for local authorities and schools to decide. However, where a local authority provides milk, it must be free to pupils whose parents are in receipt of the following support payments: income support; income based jobseekers' allowance; support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; child tax credit, provided that they are not entitled to working tax credit, and have an annual income (as assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) that from 6 April 2005 does not exceed £13,910; or the guarantee element of state pension credit. In addition, children who receive income support or income based jobseekers' allowance in their own right are entitled to free school milk where it is provided.
	We acknowledge that milk can provide a valuable contribution to a balanced diet as well as being a healthier alternative to soft drinks. We plan to launch a suite of new nutritional standards for school food later in the spring, which will stipulate water, fruit juices and milk as the only available drinks in schools. The new standards will take into account appropriate levels of daily nutrient intake, including calcium.

Medical Students

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of applicants to study medicine in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 14 December 2005
	The latest available information is given in the table.
	
		UK domiciled applicants to pre-clinical medicine at UK HE institutions
		
			 Year of entry Applicants 
		
		
			 2001 8,130 
			 2002 9,498 
			 2003 11 ,920 
			 2004 14,275 
			 2005 15,637 
		
	
	Source:
	Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

Home Tutors

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what security checks an individual must pass through before working as a home tutor.

Ruth Kelly: holding answer 20 January 2006
	Individuals working as self employed home tutors are not able independently to obtain a Criminal Records Bureau disclosure as the application must be signed by a person who is entitled to ask an exempted question in relation to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.
	The Department strongly advises parents to check the background of home tutors by requesting references and checking a tutor's registration with the relevant General Teaching Council. Parents are also advised to make appropriate arrangements for a child who is receiving home tuition, for example having an adult present.
	The Department is fully aware that parents have limited access to information. The new scheme to be implemented as part of the Bichard inquiry recommendations will allow parents to check whether an individual they wish to employ to work with their children, e.g. as a home tutor, is barred.

Indoor Airborne Chemicals

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research her Department has commissioned on the (a) quality and (b) type of indoor airborne chemicals in state primary schools.

Jacqui Smith: The Department has not commissioned any research examining the quality or type of indoor air chemicals in state primary schools.

Lifelong Learning

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research the Government will (a) undertake and (b) commission to assess the selective effectiveness of measures to promote wider participation in lifelong learning in England.

Bill Rammell: The Department's research plans fully incorporate how effectively our policies widen participation in learning, especially in areas of 14 to 19 education, adult skills, and HE. Key policies aimed at increasing and widening participation in lifelong learning are subject to detailed evaluation to establish their effectiveness and to improve their delivery.
	For example, in the context of widening participation in HE, Aimhigher is subject to a comprehensive evaluation strategy, organised in partnership with HEFCE and the LSC. It includes surveys of young people, educational providers and Aimhigher partnerships, all conducted by independent research organisations. The evaluation seeks to identify what works, and to use this to inform further policy development and delivery.
	In the context of increasing participation in lifelong learning, the evaluation of the Employer Training Pilots uses a wide range of qualitative and quantitative techniques to assess their effectiveness including; surveys of participating employers and employees (early and follow-up), ETP providers, case studies of LLSCs and all key stakeholders, quantitative random surveys of employers, and surveys of eligible employees.
	Other examples include the evaluations of the Union Learning Fund, IAG, and the Adult Learning Grant. Full details of the Department's research programme is available at the Research and Statistics Gateway" on the DfES website, including copies of completed and published research.
	The Department will continue to assess the effectiveness of its policies aimed at widening participation and to share best practice among our partners in delivery.

National Foundation for Educational Research

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills by what process the decision to commission and fund the National Foundation for Educational Research to conduct a trial of the US SAT test was taken; and what other assessments were considered for funded research.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 19 January 2006
	The research project into the validity of the use of the US-style SAT in university admissions was presented to the Department jointly by the Sutton Trust and the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). The independent review of admissions to higher education (HE) chaired by Professor Steven Schwartz recommended in 2004 a research study to assess the idea of a national test of potential for HE. It noted that US-style SATs were worth exploring, alongside other possibilities, and welcomed the Sutton Trust's proposals for an operational pilot. Following the Department's standard procedures for the approval of research proposed and initiated by external organisations, a decision was taken to contribute up to £800,000 over the length of the five year study. The Sutton Trust, NFER and the College Board in America which owns the SAT, are also making significant contributions. The research will go further than assessing the effectiveness of SATs—it will also provide valuable data to assess how pastoral support and teaching methods affect student retention and progression. The Department has received no other formal costed proposals to fund research into other forms of assessment of potential for HE.

School Finance

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the annual funding per pupil has been in (a) Hereford and (b) Leominster constituencies in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The Department does not collect information on school funding at constituency level. It only collects funding information at the local authority level. The figures for total funding increases in Herefordshire for pupils aged 3–19 in real terms since 1997 are shown in the table.
	
		Herefordshire: Total revenue funding per pupil aged 3–19(4)
		
			 £ 
			  Funding per pupil 
		
		
			 1997–98 2,880 
			 1998–99 2,910 
			 1999–2000 3,040 
			 2000–01 3,270 
			 2001–02 3,380 
			 2002–03 3,470 
			 2003–04 3,640 
			 2004–05 3,790 
			 2005–06 3,970 
		
	
	(4) Real terms, excluding the pensions transfer to Education Formula Spending and the Learning and Skills Council.
	Notes:
	1. Price Base: Real terms at 2004–05 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 23 December 2005.
	2. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of Standard Spending Assessment / Education Formula Spending (EFS) settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS and LSC.
	3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged 3–19 and exclude education maintenance allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LEA level.
	4. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to per pupil are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations plus PLASC 3-year-old maintained pupils and estimated 3 to 4-year-olds funded through state support in maintained and other educational institutions where these are not included in the SSA pupil numbers.
	5. Rounding: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	6. Status: 2005–06 figures are provisional as some grants have not yet been finalised/audited.
	7. 1997–98 figures for authorities subject to Local Government Reorganisation in that year have been estimated, pro-rata to their post LGR figures.

School Teachers Review Body

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made in requiring the School Teachers Review Body to consider local pay; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 23 January 2006
	The School Teachers' Review Body considered the matter of local approaches to pay in detail in their 13th report (part 2) in March 2004. Following further evidence from statutory consultees, their 14th report in February 2005 noted that additional evaluation of the operation of existing pay bands should take place prior to further consideration of local pay. Their 15 report, published in December 2005, recommended no change at present, but that the principal response to a range of pay matters should be to encourage the using of existing local discretions.

School Travel Plans

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what national target she has set for the percentage of schools with travel plans by 2009.

Jacqui Smith: The joint Department for Education and Skills and Department for Transport travelling to school project includes targets for 10,000 schools to have a travel plan in place by March 2006, and every school in England to have one by the end of the decade. We are currently on target to achieve that.

Specialist Industry Sectors

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what financial support her Department provides to enable specialist industry sectors to meet their training needs.

Phil Hope: holding answer 20 January 2006
	The Government funds the Sector Skills Development Agency which is responsible for funding, supporting and monitoring the network of 25 Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) which cover 85 per cent. of the employed population. SSCs are led by employers and work to reduce skills gaps and shortages; improve productivity, business and public service performance, increase opportunities to boost the skills and productivity of everyone in the sector's workforce and improve learning supply including apprenticeships, higher education and National Occupational Standards (NOS).
	In 2005–06 the Department for Education and Skills allocated £67.7 million to the Sector Skills Development Agency.

State-funded Education

Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Croydon, Central (Mr. Pelling) of 16 January 2006, Official Report, column 1030W, on state-funded education, if she will express the figures in cash terms at 2005 prices.

Jacqui Smith: The following table shows the UK education expenditure and gross domestic product (GDP) cash figures used as the basis for my answer to the hon. Member for Croydon, Central.
	
		£ million
		
			  1979–80 1987–88 1997–98 2004–05 
		
		
			 Education spend 10,500 20,400 37,400 63,900 
			 GDP 207,608 431,246 824,044 1,177,760 
			 Percentage 5.1 4.7 4.5 5.4 
		
	
	Note:
	1. Figures on UK education spend for the years shown were obtained from the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses.
	2. The GDP figures used are the latest available and were updated at the end of December 2005.
	3. The international definition of education expenditure used to produce the figures for the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses has changed overtime; therefore, the figure for 1979–80 is not directly comparable with the other years. The figures for 1987–88, 1997–98 and 2004–05 have been produced to the same definition and so are comparable.
	The figures for percentage of GDP spent on education remain the same whether cash or 2004–05 prices are used. This is because the same price deflator is used for education spend and GDP when calculating real terms figures.

Student Finance

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to ensure that students who wish to enter higher education are aware of the types of financial support available to them.

Bill Rammell: In October 2005 we began a publicity campaign aimed at potential students and their parents to raise awareness of student finance messages. This campaign is planned to continue until March 2006.
	We also continue to produce a range of targeted literature for potential students, and offer information and advice through a telephone helpline, internet websites, and events for prospective students.
	In addition, we are working with local authorities, universities, the schools and FE sectors, and a range of national organisations to ensure that they are able to offer accurate information and advice.

Sure Start

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many (a) children and (b) adults have participated in Sure Start programmes in each year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many Sure Start programmes have been established in each year for which figures are available;
	(3)  what target she has set for expanding the number of Sure Start programmes; and what progress has been made in meeting this target.

Beverley Hughes: There are 524 Sure Start local programmes. These were approved in the following years:
	1999: 22
	2000: 102
	2001:116
	2002: 161
	2003: 123
	We do not collect information on the total number of children and adults who have accessed all Sure Start local programme services. As of March 2005, there were 420,149 children aged 0–3 living in areas covered by Sure Start local programmes. These children and their parents are able to access a wide range of Sure Start services.
	There are no plans to develop further Sure Start local programmes. We expect all 524 local programmes to develop into Sure Start children's centres. By March 2006 we expect around 90 per cent. of these local programmes to have developed into children's centres; the remainder will become children's centres by March 2008. We expect to have developed 3,500 children's centres by 2010.

Sure Start

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in which constituencies Sure Start programmes are located.

Beverley Hughes: We do not hold information on all the constituencies covered by Sure Start local programmes. However we are able to provide a breakdown by local authority area and this is as follows.
	
		
			 Local authority Number of local programmes 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 4 
			 Barnet 1 
			 Barnsley 5 
			 Bath and NE Somerset 1 
			 Bedfordshire 1 
			 Bexley 1 
			 Birmingham 12 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 5 
			 Blackpool 3 
			 Bolton 4 
			 Bournemouth 1 
			 Bradford 8 
			 Brent 3 
			 Brighton and Hove 2 
			 Bristol 4 
			 Bromley 1 
			 Buckinghamshire 1 
			 Bury 1 
			 Calderdale 3 
			 Cambridgeshire 2 
			 Camden 5 
			 Cheshire 4 
			 Cornwall 7 
			 Coventry 4 
			 Croydon 1 
			 Cumbria 5 
			 Darlington 2 
			 Derby City 4 
			 Derbyshire 5 
			 Devon 4 
			 Doncaster 6 
			 Dorset 1 
			 Dudley 3 
			 Durham City 1 
			 Durham County 11 
			 Ealing 2 
			 East Riding of Yorks 1 
			 East Sussex 6 
			 Enfield 1 
			 Essex 4 
			 Gateshead 4 
			 Gloucestershire 2 
			 Greenwich 5 
			 Hackney 7 
			 Halton 5 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 3 
			 Hampshire 2 
			 Haringey 6 
			 Hartlepool 3 
			 Havering 1 
			 Herefordshire 1 
			 Hillingdon 1 
			 Hounslow 1 
			 Isle of Wight 1 
			 Islington 6 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 2 
			 Kent 9 
			 Kingston Upon Hull 7 
			 Kirklees 5 
			 Knowsley 5 
			 Lambeth 6 
			 Lancashire 17 
			 Leeds 8 
			 Leicester City 6 
			 Leicestershire 1 
			 Lewisham 5 
			 Lincolnshire 7 
			 Liverpool 10 
			 Luton 1 
			 Manchester 11 
			 Medway Towns 1 
			 Merton 1 
			 Middlesbrough 5 
			 Milton Keynes 1 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 7 
			 Newham 8 
			 Norfolk 8 
			 North East Lincolnshire 7 
			 North Lincolnshire  
			 North Somerset 1 
			 North Tyneside 3 
			 North Yorkshire 2 
			 Northamptonshire 3 
			 Northumberland 5 
			 Nottingham City 8 
			 Nottinghamshire 10 
			 Oldham 5 
			 Oxford City 1 
			 Peterborough 3 
			 Plymouth 4 
			 Portsmouth 2 
			 Reading 1 
			 Redbridge 1 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 4 
			 Rochdale 5 
			 Rotherham 3 
			 Salford 5 
			 Sandwell 9 
			 Sefton 4 
			 Sheffield 8 
			 Shropshire 2 
			 Slough 1 
			 Solihull 1 
			 Somerset 3 
			 South Tyneside 5 
			 Southampton 3 
			 Southend on Sea 1 
			 Southwark 7 
			 St. Helens 5 
			 Staffordshire 5 
			 Stockport 1 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 5 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 6 
			 Suffolk 3 
			 Sunderland 7 
			 Sutton 1 
			 Swindon 1 
			 Tameside 4 
			 Telford and Wrekin 2 
			 Thurrock 1 
			 Torbay 2 
			 Tower Hamlets 7 
			 Trafford 1 
			 Wakefield 4 
			 Walsall 5 
			 Waltham Forest 4 
			 Warrington 2 
			 Warwickshire 2 
			 West Sussex 2 
			 Westminster 3 
			 Wigan 2 
			 Wirral 4 
			 Wolverhampton 5 
			 Worcestershire 3 
			 York 1 
			 Grand total 524

Work-based Learning

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the annual level of spending on work-based learning for (a) 16 to 18-year-olds and (b) over 19-year-olds between 2004–05 and 2008–09;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the level of annual spending between 2004–05 and 2008–09 on (a) 16 to 18-year-olds and (b) over 19-year-olds on (i) advanced apprenticeships, (ii) apprenticeships, (iii) entry into employment and (iv) NVQ 1 to 4.

Phil Hope: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) through an annual Grant Letter that sets out the LSC's key priorities. The operational delivery of individual programmes, taking account of these priorities and the funding made available by the Department, is a matter for the LSC. The following table details the allocations for work-based learning programmes for the relevant financial years. In addition funding allocations are given for the adult skills programme Train to Gain.
	
		£000
		
			 Programme 2004–05(5) 2005–06 2006–07(6) 2007–08(7) 
		
		
			 Work-based Learning (16–18) 615,001 605,611 669,189 675,181 
			 Entry to Employment (16–18) 246,593 220,084 208,369 204,044 
			 Work-based Learning (19+) 243,162 269,125 202,767 229,000 
			 WBL Total 1,104,756 1,094,820 1,080,325 1,108,225 
			 Train to Gain programme (8)88,995 161,027 230,000 399,000 
			 Overall Total 1,193,751 1,255,847 1,310,325 1,507,225 
		
	
	(5) Figures for 2004–05 are taken from LSC Accounts.
	(6) Figures for 2006–07 are disaggregated from planning assumptions within the 2006–07 LSC Grant Letter.
	(7) Figures for 2007–08 are disaggregated from planning assumptions within the 2006–07 LSC Grant Letter.
	(8) Employer Training Programme (ETP) Pilots. These are the pilots for the roll out of NETP/Train to Gain in 2006–07.
	The WBL totals shown in the aforementioned table for 2005–06 to 2007–08 are consistent with the plans outlined in 'Priorities for Success' published by the LSC in October. Bill Rammell wrote to all MPs at the time to inform them about the 'Priorities for Success' document.
	For 2008–09 allocations are dependent on the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review.
	Data for allocations to programmes by qualification level are the responsibility of the LSC. In support of this PQ, LSC have been able to provide the following WBL programme/age breakdown for academic year 2004/05 only:
	
		
			 WBL programme Age group Level Spent (£ million) 
		
		
			 Advanced Apprenticeships 16–18 Level 3 226 
			 Advanced Apprenticeships 19+ Level 3 118 
			 Apprenticeships 16–18 Level 2 332 
			 Apprenticeships 19+ Level 2 111 
			 NVQ-only 16–18 Level 1–4 23 
			 NVQ-only 19+ Level 1–4 22 
			 Entry To Employment (E2E) All Ages Level 1 228 
			 Total WBL — — 1,060

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a decision has been made on which country will lead the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in Afghanistan after the UK.

John Reid: The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps is, and will remain, a British-led NATO formation. Upon the completion in February 2007 of its tour in Kabul as the headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the headquarters group of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps will return to its permanent base in Germany. No decision has yet been taken on which headquarters will assume command of the ISAF at that point.

Afghanistan

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the extent to which planners at the Army's land command headquarters and UK permanent joint headquarters have the required resources to select the brigade for the Afghan mission in spring; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: No final decisions have been made on the possible deployment of British forces to Southern Afghanistan as part of the expansion of the International Security Assistance Force. Any decision on such a deployment would take full account of our wider operational commitments.

Afghanistan

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in finalising plans for the expansion of the International Security Assistance Force into the south and east of Afghanistan; which countries have made a final decision on (a) troop deployment and (b) the nature of the capabilities which may be required; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: On 8 December 2005 NATO Foreign Ministers agreed a revised operational plan to inform the expansion of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) into the south and then subsequently east of Afghanistan. NATO is currently in the process of generating the necessary forces which will embrace the wide range of capabilities necessary to implement ISAF expansion. Offers by nations to fill particular requirements are a matter for the countries concerned.

Afghanistan

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his Dutch counterpart on future deployments to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: I have regular discussions with allies, including the Dutch, about NATO operations in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what type of individual protection will be provided to troops deployed to Afghanistan in the future.

John Reid: All troops deploying to Afghanistan will be personally issued with body armour and helmets. In addition, task specific protection equipment will be issued to personnel depending on the operational role that the individual will perform.

Afghanistan

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what urgent operational requirements the Department has ordered to support future troop deployment to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: The urgent operational requirement (UOR) process is used to fine-tune our military capability to meet the threats and circumstances relating to particular deployments. Information regarding specific UORs remains operationally sensitive.

Afghanistan

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what agreement will govern the handover of prisoners detained in Afghanistan by UK forces to (a) US forces and (b) Afghan security forces; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 20 January 2006
	We are currently concluding a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Afghanistan to cover the possible future transfer of any individual to the Afghan authorities following detention by UK forces. To date, the UK has not transferred any detainee to the Afghan authorities and there are no detainees under UK authority.
	The UK has not and does not intend to transfer individuals detained in Afghanistan into the custody of US forces.

Afghanistan

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what agreement has been reached between NATO and the Afghan Government regarding the arrest and detention of prisoners apprehended on Afghan territory; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 20 January 2006
	The role of the NATO-led international security assistance force (ISAF) is to provide support to the Afghan authorities in creating and maintaining a secure environment. Troops deployed under the ISAF are able to arrest and detain by virtue of the authorisations permitting use of all necessary measures to fulfil its mandate contained in, most recently, UNSCR 1623 (2005), and by agreement with the Government of Afghanistan. ISAF policy is that individuals should be transferred to the Afghan authorities at the first opportunity and within 96 hours or released.

C-130 Hercules

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with representatives of (a) the RAF and (b) industry on fitting a fuel tank inerting system to RAF Hercules C-130 aircraft before 30 January 2006.

Adam Ingram: The MOD's Equipment Capability Customer organisation has discussed with RAF Strike Command the possible fitting of Explosive Suppressant Foam to C-130 aircraft, and the Hercules Integrated Project Team is currently following this up with Marshall Aerospace. There are no plans to fit this before 30 January 2006.

EU Satellite System

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations the Government have received from the US Administration about the EU Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) satellite system; what assessment he has made of the implications of the system for the development of the European Security and Defence Policy; what use he expects British armed forces to make of GMES; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: I have been asked to reply.
	The EU Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) satellite system was designed as a civilian system and the EU has agreed it should be used for civilian purposes. It will be under civilian control but, like other civilian technology, the EU may draw on the information it provides for European Security and Defence Policy crisis management operations. The Ministry of Defence may similarly wish to make use of GMES information. The UK would oppose the system being under military control or being tasked to serve the military directly. The Government have not received any representations from the US regarding GMES.

First Sea Lord

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the contribution to the Royal Navy of Sir Alan West as First Sea Lord.

John Reid: Admiral Sir Alan West, who retires in February, has overseen an important stage in the transformation of the Royal Navy. This includes the introduction of new ships and aircraft and important changes to the personnel and organisational structures of the Royal Navy, delivering a flexible and versatile force for good with an increased level of capability.
	Admiral West has worked to raise the profile of the Royal Navy, and in particular has drawn attention to the relevance and importance of the service to national life through the medium of the successful Nelson commemorations. By doing so he will leave an important legacy from his time as First Sea Lord.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Navy ships visited (a) Gibraltar and (b) Spain in the last 12 months.

Adam Ingram: During the 2005 calendar year, there were a total of 45 Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship visits to Gibraltar and 28 visits to Spanish ports. Of the 28 visits to Spanish ports, 10 were undertaken by vessels allocated to NATO Standing Naval Forces and therefore programmed directly by NATO.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF aircraft landed at RAF Gibraltar in the last 12 months, broken down by type.

Adam Ingram: The information requested is shown as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Hercules C130 67 
			 Hawk 6 
			 Falcon 7 
			 Chinook 5 
			 Nimrod 2 
			 HS125 5 
			 Canberra 2 
			 C441 1 
			 Hawk 6 
			 Jaguar 7 
			 Puma 2 
			 C17 2 
			 Tornado 9 
			 Tucano 1

Hawker Hunter Aircraft Sites

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what restrictions were placed on the use of the Hawker Hunter aircraft sites by Phillips in November 2000 on behalf of his Department; and who acquired them.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence's conditions of sale made clear that it is the responsibility of the purchaser to obtain a certificate of airworthiness if the intention was to fly the aircraft and to apply for an export licence if it was to be transferred outside the United Kingdom.
	At the auction held on 29 November 2000 by Phillips Auctioneers, the Disposal Services Agency's records show that three ex-Royal Navy Hawker Hunter aircraft and one ex-Royal Air Force Hawker Hunter aircraft were sold to a private individual and two ex-Royal Air Force Hawker Hunter aircraft were sold to the company, 'Towerdrive'. The individual cannot be named for Data Protection Act reasons.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what investigations he has conducted into involvement of UK force personnel in the death of (a) Hanan Schmailawi, (b) Muhammad Salim, (c) policeman Raid al Musawi, (d) Hazim al-Skeini and (e) Waleed Muzban in Iraq in 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: All cases were investigated by the chain of command in theatre and in each case it was concluded that all actions taken had been within the rules of engagement. Subsequently the cases were subjected to review by the Special Investigation Branch (SIB). As a result, a full SIB investigation was carried out in 2004 into the case of Waleed Muzban and a report was passed to the Army Prosecuting Authority (APA). The APA considered the evidence, and, in September 2005, directed that the case be discontinued.

Iraq

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest estimate is of the total number of weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq since March 2003; and how many of these were classified as (a) nuclear, (b) chemical and (c) biological.

Adam Ingram: The United Kingdom Government have accepted the conclusions of the Iraq Survey Group's search for Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, published in Charles Duelfer's Comprehensive Report of the Special Advisor to the DCI of September 2004 and finalised in March 2005. The report is available to the public on the CIA website. This report provided the most authoritative assessment on Iraq WMD and concluded that no WMD of military significance were found.
	However, as this report predicted, numbers of degraded pre-1991 chemical weapons continue to be found in Iraq and these are being safely disposed of.

Operation Enduring Freedom

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussion he has had with his US counterpart on future UK support to Operation Enduring Freedom.

John Reid: I have regular discussions with Secretary Rumsfeld regarding operational issues, including Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).

QinetiQ

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to ensure that QinetiQ will maintain its current number of employees and presence in Scotland after privatisation.

John Reid: holding answer 23 January 2006
	This is an operational matter for the company; questions should be referred to the chief executive at the following address:
	Graham Love
	Chief Executive
	Qinetiq Ltd.
	Cody Technology Park
	Building Al
	Ively Road
	Farnborough
	Hampshire GUI4 OLX

QinetiQ

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether QinetiQ will be able to accept contracts from foreign Governments after flotation.

John Reid: Yes. The flotation itself will not make a difference to QinetiQ's ability to compete for foreign contracts, whether with Governments or industry. The Ministry of Defence will retain the right to veto QinetiQ from entering into a contract that would cause an unacceptable conflict of interest. QinetiQ is also subject to the same security and export controls as any other company.

QinetiQ

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions the Government have had with Credit Suisse regarding the availability and allocation of shares in the flotation of QinetiQ.

John Reid: Advice on availability and allocation of shares was provided to the Government, Carlyle and QinetiQ, by our joint financial advisers, under contractually committed confidentiality agreements. Credit Suisse is one of those financial advisers, and as such representatives from the bank will have taken part in discussions on the subject.

Territorial Army

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the capacity for Territorial Army commissions at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst was in each year since 2001; and how many places were unfilled.

Don Touhig: The capacity and unfilled places for Territorial Army commissions at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in each calendar year since 2001 were as follows:
	
		
			 Year(9) Capacity Unfilled(10) 
		
		
			 2001 360 143 
			 2002 330 107 
			 2003 180 0 
			 2004 270 89 
			 2005 270 165 
		
	
	(9) Calendar year
	(10) Unallocated places

Type 23 Frigate

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 10 January 2006, Official Report, column 506W, on Type 23 frigates, what plans he has to refit those Type 23 frigates carrying Lynx helicopters with Merlins.

Adam Ingram: A programme of work is in place to provide the required modifications that will enable 12 Type 23 Class frigates to operate both Merlin and Lynx helicopters. To date, five have been modified and work to modify the remaining seven will be carried out during their forthcoming Docking and Refit periods.

TRANSPORT

Biofuels

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to set targets for the percentage of fuel filling stations to be selling a minimum proportion of biofuels by (a) 2007 and (b) 2010.

Stephen Ladyman: We have no plans to do so. The Government announced in November 2005 that a Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) will be introduced from 1 April 2008. The RTFO will require all suppliers of transport fuels in the UK to ensure that 5 per cent. of their total fuel sales come from renewable sources by 2010 in order to help meet our climate change objectives. In practice this is likely to mean that the vast majority of UK filling stations will be selling biofuel blends by 2010.

Driving Licences

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what rules apply to the photographs required for the new driving licence; and whether exemptions apply for particular religious groups.

Stephen Ladyman: The law requires applicants for new driving licences to provide a photograph of their current likeness.
	The photograph must be in colour and passport style and size. It must show the full face, with no hat, helmet or sunglasses, although normal glasses and headwear worn for religious reasons is acceptable. The photograph must be taken against a plain, evenly lit background.

Crossrail

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Department has spent on the Crossrail project in each year since 1997; and what percentage has been spent on (a) staff recruitment, (b) technical consultants and (c) other external services.

Derek Twigg: Between its establishment in May 2001 and the end of 2005, Cross London Rail Links Ltd (CLRLL) was provided with funding of £130,750,118. I understand from CLRLL that the amount spent on staff recruitment, technical consultants and other external services was as follows:
	
		£
		
			 Financial year Total Staff recruitment Technical consultants Other external services 
		
		
			 2001–02 5,380,000 74,918 2,152,000 2,103,082 
			 2002–03 25,238,000 182,603 15,282,000 4,487,397 
			 2003–04 31 ,547,000 141,299 19,646,000 6,372,701 
			 2004–05 44,461,000 198,540 25,821,000 11,266,460 
			 Financial year to end December 2005 28,124,118 400,855 13,734,927 6,356,932 
		
	
	The remaining costs included staff salaries and day-to-day running costs.
	In addition, between September 2003 and the end of 2005, the internal Department for Transport unit that deals with Crossrail sponsorship, which includes the Crossrail hybrid Bill team, had costs of £6,102,814. The amount spent on technical consultants and other external services is detailed in the following below. Spending on staff recruitment is not recorded separately. All relevant staff were already employees of the Department for Transport.
	
		£
		
			 Financial year Total spend Technical consultants Other external services 
		
		
			 2003–04 1,445,019 1,144,920 Nil 
			 2004–05 2,657,209 1,937,093 20,937 
			 Financial year to end  December 2005 2,000,586 1,231,149 25,657 
		
	
	The remaining costs included staff salaries and day-to-day running costs.
	Prior to September 2003 any work undertaken in respect of Crossrail was carried out by staff within the Department on an ad hoc basis as part of their other duties. Other officials have been involved in Crossrail related matters from time to time, as have officials in the Strategic Rail Authority and Transport for London.

Cycling Accidents

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving cyclists resulting in (a) death and (b) serious injury there were in each year since 1997 in Gravesham constituency.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of fatal and serious personal injury road traffic accidents that involve one or more cyclist in the Gravesham constituency since 1997 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Fatal accidents Serious accidents 
		
		
			 1997 0 8 
			 1998 0 2 
			 1999 0 3 
			 2000 0 3 
			 2001 0 2 
			 2002 0 1 
			 2003 0 5 
			 2004 0 0 
		
	
	The accidents given in the table are those which occurred within the 2004 boundary of Gravesham constituency. The cyclists in these accidents did not necessarily sustain injuries themselves.
	We are committed to improving safety for cyclists. Across Great Britain the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured in 2004 was 38 per cent. below the 1994–98 baseline, while the number of child cyclists killed or seriously injured was 49 per cent. below the baseline. All local authorities should have a cycling strategy, which includes improving safety through measures such as education, publicity and engineering. We introduced a new national standard for cycle training in 2005. We also have a range of cycling publicity materials aimed at the most vulnerable cyclists, children and teenagers, with a new teen campaign planned for 2006. We are also educating drivers in the need to be aware of cyclists, with this message included in the theory, hazard perception and practical elements of the driving test, with advice to drivers in the Highway Code and elsewhere.

Greater Western Franchise

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average increase in ticket prices in the Greater Western franchise was in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: Regulated fares—meaning most fares used by commuters plus long distance Saver Return fares—on the First Great Western, First Great Western Link, and Wessex franchises have been limited to an average increase of 1 per cent. less than inflation from 1999 to 2003, then 1 per cent. more than inflation from 2004 onwards. Other fares are unregulated and may be set at the operator's own commercial discretion.

Greater Western Franchise

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of future passenger numbers in the Greater Western franchise.

Derek Twigg: The Department's forecast is that 779 million passenger journeys will be made on Greater Western services over the 10 years of the Greater Western franchise.

Greater Western Franchise

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the passenger figures were for the Greater Western franchise in each quarter of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: Passenger figures for all train operating companies are set out in National Rail Trends, published by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). A copy is available in the House Library.

Greater Western Franchise

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) the absolute and (b) the moving annual average rates for (i) punctuality and (ii) reliability for companies operating the Greater Western Franchise were for each quarter of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: Quarterly performance figures for all train operating companies are set out in National Rail Trends, published by the Office of Rail Regulation. A copy is available in the House Library.

Greater Western Franchise

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what public expenditure was allocated to (a) tracks, (b) estates and (c) rolling stock on the Greater Western Franchise in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: The Department does not record expenditure under these specific headings. The subsidy/premium payments for the constituent parts of the Greater Western franchise paid/received over the last five years are as follows:
	
		£000
		
			  First GW First GW Link Wessex 
		
		
			 2000–01 42,770. 10,984 — 
			 2001–02 27,511 (11)3,931 22,582 
			 2002–03 8,735 (11)13,232 50,885 
			 2003–04 16,089 (11)15,027 75,015 
			 2004–05 (11)17,635 (11)5,804 55,628 
		
	
	(11) Premium paid to Government.

Light Rail Schemes

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost has been of light rail schemes delivered since 2000; and what he estimates will be the cost of schemes to be delivered up to July 2010.

Derek Twigg: Five light rail schemes have been delivered since 2000. The total cost of each was as follows:
	Croydon Tramlink (opened 2000), £200 million
	Manchester Metrolink Phase II extension to Eccles (2000), £160 million
	Metro Sunderland extension (2002), £98 million
	Nottingham Express Transit Line 1 (2004), £200 million
	Docklands Light Railway extension to London City Airport (2005), £147 million
	A number of new schemes are currently being developed. These include:
	An extension to Midland Metro, which has provisional approval at £165 million in 1999 prices.
	An extension to the Docklands Light Railway to Woolwich which is estimated to cost £200 million.
	Refurbishment and capacity enhancement to part of the Manchester Metrolink. This is part of a commitment of £520 million public sector funding for public transport, which could include light rail, in the areas covered by Metrolink Phase III.
	Proposals for other light rail schemes in England are being developed and will be considered in due course.

M18

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport why the temporary 50 mph speed limit is in force on the M18 in the vicinity of junction 1 during periods when works are not taking place.

Stephen Ladyman: The temporary 50 mph speed limit is in force on the M18 in the vicinity of junction 1 during periods when works are not taking place following a risk assessment which identified that it is safer for the road users and workers on site to enforce the speed limit for the full duration. Removing traffic management and the speed restriction while works were not ongoing would mean adding unnecessary safety risks to the road workers and road users, as well as extending the time required to complete the works.

M18

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the roadworks in the vicinity of junction 1 of the M18 motorway to be completed; and when he expects the M18 motorway to be free of (a) roadworks and (b) lane closures.

Stephen Ladyman: The roadworks in the vicinity of junction 1 of the M18 motorway are expected to finish in March 2006. The M18 is a strategic route and has regular maintenance and safety works. Therefore there will be roadworks and lane closures on an ongoing basis as needed.

Mobile Phone Coverage

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve mobile phone coverage on national mainline inter-city rail links.

Derek Twigg: Improving mobile phone coverage on inter-city rail links is a commercial matter for the train operating companies concerned and mobile phone companies.
	The Department understand that Virgin trains, among others, are aware of the issue and are working on solutions with the mobile phone providers.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the arrangements are for the Government to oversee the work of Network Rail.

Derek Twigg: The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) is responsible for monitoring Network Rail to ensure that it acts in the public interest and delivers the outputs for which it is funded, ORR publishes regular information on Network Rail's performance including the Network Rail Monitor each quarter and an annual assessment. As a major funder of Network Rail, and to facilitate its role in setting strategy for the railway and its other railway functions, the Department for Transport also receives regular monitoring information from Network Rail.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes were made to the guarantee arrangements for Network Rail's debt when the Strategic Rail Authority was abolished.

Derek Twigg: The credit support arrangements for Network Rail previously provided by the Strategic Rail Authority were transferred to the Secretary of State for Transport on 26 June 2005. There were no changes to these arrangements arising from the transfer.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his most recent estimate is of the capital value of Network Rail's assets; and what charge he holds over those assets in the event that the company becomes insolvent.

Derek Twigg: The capital value of Network Rail's assets is a matter for the company and is set out in their annual report and accounts. The Secretary of State has no charge over any of Network Rail's assets.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the risk to (a) Network Rail's financial position and (b) its ability to service its debts if the Government should decide to reduce the level of activity it purchases from the Network; and whether he has made an assessment of the corresponding risk of the Government's guarantees being required.

Derek Twigg: The total income required by Network Rail and the outputs it has to deliver for that income for a five year period is determined by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) in Access Charge Reviews. Under the arrangements in the Railways Act 2005, at the start of future Access Charge Reviews the Secretary of State must provide ORR with details of the high level outputs he wants the railway to deliver and the public funding available for this. In carrying out the Access Charge Review, ORR must have regard to this information in establishing Network Rail's income and required outputs. ORR also take full account of the costs of servicing Network Rail's existing debts and its overall financial position.
	Network Rail's income and required outputs can only be altered within the five year period under circumstances determined by ORR. This would take the form of an Access Charge Review as described above.
	These arrangements should ensure that Network Rail has sufficient income to meet all its obligations.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contingency arrangements he has put in place in the event of Network Rail becoming insolvent.

Derek Twigg: Network Rail is making good progress towards delivering the obligations established by the Access Charge Review 2003, including its efficiency savings target. Financial monitoring by ORR indicates that Network Rail is well within its financial licence condition and the likelihood of the company becoming insolvent in the foreseeable future is therefore remote. Accordingly, no specific contingency arrangements have been considered. However, should a protected railway company be unable to or likely to become unable to pay its debts, the Railways Act 1993, as amended, includes powers for the Secretary of State to petition for a Railway Administration Order in relation to that company.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's submission to the Office for National Statistics concerning the classification of Network Rail's debt.

Derek Twigg: Correspondence between the Department for Transport and Office for National Statistics about the classification of Network Rail is available on the Office of National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/Methodology_by_theme/rail_network/default.asp

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what rights the Government has to define Network Rail's future activity.

Derek Twigg: The Government does not define Network Rail's future activity. Under the arrangements in the Railways Act 2005, at the start of an Access Charge Review the Secretary of State provides the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) with information about the high level outputs he wants the railway as a whole to deliver and the public funding likely to be available for a five year period. Scottish Ministers provide similar information as regards the railway in Scotland. ORR will use this in the course of the Access Charge Review to establish the specific outputs that Network Rail has to deliver as well as the income it requires for this.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many working days have been lost to strike action on the national rail network in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The number of working days lost by passenger train operating companies (TOCs) are outlined in the following table:
	
		
			  
		
		
			 1997 2,400 
			 1998 3,634 
			 1999 0 
			 2000 1,713 
			 2001 2,153 
			 2002 29,709 
			 2003 6,622 
			 2004(12) 200 
			 2005(12) 1,750 
		
	
	(12) The figures for 2004 and 2005 are estimates as the information is no longer collected in detail by the association of train operating companies (ATOC).
	The table does not include reference to lost working days affecting Network Rail. As this is an operational matter for Network Rail, I have asked Network Rail to respond directly to the hon. Member.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the economy of strike action on the national rail network in each year since 1997.
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the number of passenger journeys on the national rail network affected by strike action in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The data requested are not held by the Department and the information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Railways

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average age is of the rolling stock of each of the heavy rail franchises; and whether the new contracts include plans to replace old rolling stock.

Derek Twigg: The average age of rolling stock by franchise (as at 1 October 2005) is:
	
		
			  Franchise Average age of rolling stock (in years)  Note 
		
		
			 c2c 4.5 296 new vehicles introduced, replacing the entire fleet operated by c2c 
			 Central 13.6  
			 Chiltern 11.0  
			 First Great Western 24.6 The Department for Transport is leading the procurement of new vehicles to replace the existing High Speed Train (HST), it is planned they will start entering service from the end of 2012. 
			 First Great Western Link 14.8  
			 Gatwick Express 8.2  
			 GNER 21.2 The Mk4 'Mallard' fleet is currently 16-years-old. The High Speed Train (HST) fleet is now approaching 30-years-old. The Department for Transport is leading the procurement of new vehicles to replace the existing HSTs, it is planned they will start entering service from the end of 2012. 
			 Great Northern 19.9  
			 Island Line 67.8 Island Line is a small operator providing local and leisure services between Shanklin and Rye Pier Head on the Isle of Wight. 
			 Midland Mainline 16.7 The Department for Transport is leading the procurement of new vehicles to replace the existing High Speed Train (HST), it is planned they will start entering service from the end of 2012. 
			 Northern 17.1  
			 One 20.8  
			 Scotrail 14.0  
			 Silverlink 15.9  
			 Southern 8.1 742 new vehicles introduced as part of Southern Region upgrade, comprising two thirds of the Southern fleet. 
			 South Eastern Trains 8.5 618 new vehicles introduced as part of Southern Region upgrade, comprising half of the SET fleet. 
			 South West Trains 10.0 785 new vehicles introduced, (665 of these as part of Southern Region upgrade) comprising half of the SWT fleet. 
			 Thameslink 18.8  
			 Transpennine 14.8  
			 Virgin Cross Country 3.6 352 new vehicles introduced, replacing the entire Cross Country fleet. 
			 Virgin West Coast 4.1 477 new vehicles introduced, replacing the main West Coast fleet. 
			 Wales and Borders 14.7  
			 Wessex 18.7  
		
	
	As at 1 October 2005, the Average Age of the UK passenger fleet is 12.98 years. This compares to the average age in 2000 of 20.67 years and in 1995 of 22.74 years.

North East Regional Planning Assessment

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which (a) regional and (b) local stakeholders have participated in the development of the North East Regional Planning Assessment.

Derek Twigg: Development of the Regional Planning Assessment has benefited from extensive and constructive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders including the North East Regional Assembly, One North East, Tyne and Wear PTE, the Regional Transport Forum, Local Authorities, Transport Operators and the Rail Passengers' Council.

Parliamentary Questions

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will answer question 34637 tabled by the hon. Member for Rochdale on 30 November 2005.

Derek Twigg: I have answered the hon. Member's question today.

Passenger Travel Alert Services

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to encourage public transport operators to use passenger travel alert services through mobile communications technology.

Stephen Ladyman: There are a number of public transport passenger travel alert services already available through mobile technology.
	The Department for Transport supports Transport Direct, Britain's free online journey planning service, which offers a real time journey planning service to mobile and Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) users. Users of Transport Direct's mobile and PDA service, which is subject to an ongoing development, can already:
	Find out the departure and arrival times for national rail services throughout Britain and for some bus or coach stops in areas where Short Messaging Service (SMS) codes are available for bus or coach stops (e.g. in Wales, the South West, Leicestershire and the South East, except London). The service can give the scheduled arrival and departure time and in some cases provide the expected arrival or departure times.
	View live travel news for car or public transport (e.g. check for delays and accidents) either for a region or for the whole of Britain.
	Find out whether there is a taxi rank or private hire car firm at the rail station they are travelling to, and/or get phone numbers for taxi or cab firms serving the station.
	Bookmark any useful pages they are viewing on their phone or PDA.
	The Department also supports the Traveline telephone service that is operated by transport operators and local authorities. Traveline has an SMS text service covering Scotland, Wales and parts of England. The service provides info on the next departure times of bus services from bus stops and bus stations within that region, by responding through a text message to a customer request for next bus information.
	In addition to scheduled bus times available through the Traveline SMS and phone service, some local authorities provide real time information for bus services through mobile devices. For example the Star Text" scheme in Leicester and the your next bus" service in West Yorkshire provide passengers with real time information about the actual running time of their buses through a text messaging service.
	National Rail Enquiries offers a text-back facility which enables mobile phone users to check whether trains are running to schedule. Users text the name of the station (or the designated three-letter station code if they know it) to 484950. By return they receive information on the status of trains that are due over the next hour, with a status report (i.e. On Time", +5m", etc.).

Rapid Transport Lines

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new rapid transport lines are planned in the next five years; and if he will list them.

Derek Twigg: Construction has started on an extension to the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to Woolwich. It is due for completion in 2009.
	Phase 1a of the East London bus-based transit scheme linking Ilford with Dagenham Dock via Barking town centre is due for completion in 2007.
	The following new rapid transport lines have provisional funding approval:
	Midland Metro tram extensions to Brierly Hill and Birmingham City
	Manchester, Leigh guided bus
	Cambridge guided bus
	Luton to Dunstable guided bus
	£520 million public funding has been committed to Greater Manchester, subject to GMPTE developing a satisfactory plan for the areas covered by Metrolink Phase III.
	A number of other schemes are in various stages of development, some of which may commence construction in the next five years.

Road Accidents (Ice)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) deaths and (b) serious injuries in road accidents, where the primary cause was ice on the road, there were in each of the past 20 years.

Stephen Ladyman: Information on the primary cause of personal road injury accidents is not available. The number of fatalities and serious injuries in personal injury road accidents where there was Frost or Ice" on the road surface, is given in the following table for 1985–2004.
	Number of fatal and serious casualties by road surface condition Frost or Ice": 1985–2004.
	
		Severity of casualty
		
			  Fatal(13) Serious 
		
		
			 1985 100 1,894 
			 1986 118 2,039 
			 1987 65 1,159 
			 1988 63 1,071 
			 1989 66 871 
			 1990 58 747 
			 1991 84 1,447 
			 1992 77 1,040 
			 1993 58 827 
			 1994 53 872 
			 1995 60 859 
			 1996 59 919 
			 1997 36 515 
			 1998 33 558 
			 1999 60 753 
			 2000 33 487 
			 2001 66 905 
			 2002 29 301 
			 2003 32 619 
			 2004 40 505 
		
	
	(13) Deaths within 30 days of the accident. Excludes confirmed suicides, death from natural causes and injuries to pedestrians with no vehicle involvement (e.g. a fall on the pavement).

Road Improvements

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2006, Official Report, column 929W, if he will clarify the information given in relation to road improvement in North East Lincolnshire, with particular reference to low noise resurfacing on the A180 east of Ulceby towards Grimsby.

Stephen Ladyman: My answer of 16 January confirmed the programmed dates for the low noise carriageway resurfacing of the remaining sections of the A180 in North East Lincolnshire.
	The Highways Agency's policy for carriageway resurfacing is developed on a whole life cost basis, identifying the appropriate maintenance treatment at the optimum time and using quieter surfacing materials.
	The current Government Spending Review 2004 confirms the Highways Agency's budgets for the period 2005–06 to 2007–08; no indication is available of funding levels beyond this period. Consequently, as the programmed dates for the works concerned fall outside the current Spending Review period, the allocation of funding to these resurfacing schemes cannot be confirmed at this time.

Road Improvements

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2005, Official Report, columns 2318–19W, on road improvement costs, what proportion of the overrun for the targeted programme of improvements can be ascribed to (a) underestimates, (b) fraud, (c) inflation in the construction industry and (d) other factors.

Stephen Ladyman: The targeted programme of improvements (TPI) table placed in the House Library in December 2005 compares the approved full out-turn cost against the scheme cost submitted for TPI entry approval. Since April 2003 the TPI entry cost has been reported on the basis of full projected out-turn, making allowance for identified risks, inflation up to scheme completion, non-recoverable VAT and for 'optimism bias' in line with revised Treasury guidance issued in April 2003. Before then, only net scheme costs, exclusive of VAT, projected inflation and 'optimism bias' were reported at TPI entry.
	This is why as stated in the footnote to the answer of 19 December 2005, the two sets of figures in the table are not directly comparable for the 43 schemes that entered the TPI prior to April 2003. For these schemes, about £0.6 billion (39 per cent.) of the £1.54 billion variance against the cost reported at TPI entry is attributable to the absence of VAT, projected inflation at 2.5 per cent. and 'optimism bias'. The remainder of the variance can be attributed to underestimates in the scope of schemes and the impact of inflation. Scheme budgets have assumed that construction inflation would run at 2.5 per cent. per year. The latest indications suggest that a higher allowance may be more appropriate and more research is under way in that area. As far as the Highways Agency is aware fraud has played no factor in any requirement for budget increases.
	For the 39 schemes that entered the TPI since April 2003, the two sets of figures are directly comparable and only two schemes have approved budgets that have increased since TPI entry. These increases (£61 million) can be attributed to a combination of underestimates (£26 million) and higher construction inflation (£35 million). Again, none of these increases can be attributed to fraud.

Road Traffic Accidents

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department collects information on the number of fatalities in road traffic accidents partially or wholly caused by (a) domestic animals, (b) farm animals and (c) pheasants reared for shooting.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department does not collect information on personal injury road accidents caused by animals. However we do collect information on animals identified as carriageway hazards in accidents, specifically categories of dog on road" and other animal on road".
	The following table shows the number of fatalities in personal injury road accidents where a dog or other animal has been identified as a carriageway hazard for 2004.
	
		Fatalities
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Dog on road 1 
			 Other animal on road 52

Transport Projects (Coventry)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department has provided for transport projects in Coventry South since 1997.

Karen Buck: Since the introduction of Local Transport Plans in 2000, the local authorities in the West Midlands Local Transport Plan Area have received around £402.5 million in funding for local transport projects and maintenance schemes. In addition, the authorities received approximately £92.5 million in funding for major local transport schemes including £28 million of funding allocated in December 2004 for the Coventry Quality Bus Network.
	Between 1997 and 2000 the local authorities in the former West Midlands county received approximately £175.5 million in funding for local transport capital investment. The Department for Transport does not have the data to identify a figure separately for local transport investment in Coventry south.
	The Coventry South constituency has also benefited from the £7 billion investment in the west coast railway line. An additional £4.2 million has also been spent on railway related park and ride schemes.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Women's Pensions

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what plans the Government are considering to tackle women's pension inequality.

Meg Munn: holding answer 23 January 2006
	Women's pension provision is steadily improving over time. Through various measures introduced since 1997, we have already lifted 1.9 million pensioners out of absolute low income—1.3 million of whom are women. The introduction of Home Responsibilities Protection in 1978 together with women's increased labour market participation mean that women are building up better basic state pension records. Future women pensioners will also benefit from the introduction of State Second Pension with six million more building up additional state pension than did under SERPS.
	Government recognises that there is still more to be done to address this problem, and that's why the Department for Work and Pensions published a report entitled 'Women and pensions: The evidence' in November 2005, which will inform the next phase of the National Pensions Debate.
	We are currently analysing the findings of the Pensions Commission's final report published on 30 November 2005, and we will consider the recommendations and options made by the Commission with a view to publishing a White Paper in the spring. Our proposals for reform will be guided by the principle that the pension system should deliver fair outcomes for women.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Administrative Costs

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which functions of his core Department are carried out in (a) England and (b) London; and what administrative costs were associated with these functions for each area in the last year.

Alan Johnson: Functions carried out on official premises on behalf of the DTI in (a) England by the core Department include the following work undertaken by: Finance and Resource Management; Finance processing services", Corporate Law and Governance Directorate; Companies Investigation Branch", Legal D Enforcement Unit, Industry Economics and Statistics Directorate and the work of the Regional Policy, Partnership, Transport and Planning Directorate.
	Functions carried out on official premises on behalf of the DTI in (b) London by the core Department include the work undertaken by; Business and Innovation Groups, British National Space Centre, Business Relations and Support, Consumer and Competition Policy Directorate, Corporate Law and Governance, Energy; Industries and Technologies, Markets, Strategy, Resources and Development Units", Employee Relations Directorate, Europe and World Trade Directorate, Finance and Resource Management, Human Resources and Change Management, Internal Audit, Industry Economics and Statistics Directorate, Innovation; Economics Statistics and Evaluation, Technological Innovation", Information and Workplace Services Directorate, The Legal Group; Business and Consumers, Employment Discrimination Equality Intellectual Property, Energy, Companies and Insolvency and Enforcement", The Ministerial and Parliamentary Support Team, Office for Civil Nuclear Security, Operations Directorate, Office of Science and Technology; Science and Engineering Base and Transdepartmental Science", The Regions Directorate, Strategy Communications Unit, Strategic Policy Analysis, Women and Equality Group, Womens National Commission and Export Control and Non-Proliferation Directorate.
	Additionally functions are carried out by UK Trade and Investment, an organisation which brings together the work of the DTI and the FCO in support of British trade and investment overseas, and in encouraging Inward Investment.
	Further detail pertaining to more in depth specification of the actual type of work carried out by the Units indicated above and associated Information on the administration costs of work undertaken is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Administrative Costs

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which functions of his core Department are carried out in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Wales; and what administration costs were associated with these functions for each area in the last year.

Alan Johnson: There are no functions carried out on official premises on behalf of the DTI in (a) Northern Ireland by the core Department.
	Functions carried out on official premises on behalf of the DTI in (b) Wales by the core Department include some but not all of the functions undertaken by: Human Resources and Change Management Directorate and Legal D Enforcement Unit.
	Further detail pertaining to more in depth specification of the actual type of work carried out by the units indicated above and associated information on the administration costs of work undertaken is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Administrative Costs

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what functions in his Department are carried out in Scotland; and what the administrative costs of these functions were in the last year for which figures are available.

Alan Johnson: Functions carried out on official premises on behalf of the DTI in Scotland include some but not all of those functions undertaken by the Energy Resources and Development Unit.
	Functions carried out by Executive Agencies and Arms Length Bodies in Scotland include some but not all of those functions undertaken by: Employment Tribunals Service, Insolvency Service and Companies House.
	Further detail pertaining to more in depth specification of the actual type of work carried out by the units, Executive Agencies and Arms Length Bodies indicated above and associated information on the administration costs of work undertaken is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Career Development (Women)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to encourage companies to develop the careers of their female staff.

Meg Munn: holding answer 23 January 2006
	DTI has been actively promoting best practice for many years, through case studies, reports and industry events. For example, I will be speaking at Women in IT Forum" meeting on 8 February, which will examine both the benefits to managers and to their businesses in having a better gender-balanced workforce.
	Additionally DTI has various publications such as Advancing Women in the Workplace—Good Practice Guide" and Building Better Boards"—designed to support managers in implementing effective strategies for reducing barriers to women's advancement and to combat stereotyping in the workplace.

Career Development (Women)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with business organisations on encouraging schoolgirls to consider careers in sectors which have been seen as traditionally male.

Meg Munn: holding answer 23 January 2006
	The concentration of women in particular job sectors is one of the main causes of the gender pay gap, and we recognise the importance of working with business organisations to address this issue.
	Government are working with key partners on various initiatives to encourage schoolgirls to consider careers in sectors that are traditionally seen as male. The Manufacturing Forum is just one of the initiatives the Government are involved in. This is a partnership between Government, industry and stakeholders. The Forum highlighted the Image of Manufacturing as a priority area for action and set up a Image Subgroup which brought together key organisations already active in promoting science, engineering and technology to girls and women, in order to focus on how they can work together to improve the perception of manufacturing among girls and women to improve gender equality in occupations where women are currently under-represented.
	Computer Club for Girls (CC4G) is another successful initiative aimed at getting more young girls involved in IT. DTI, DfES and South East England Development Agency supported e-Skills UK with the original pilot projects. The DfES funded national roll-out of this programme was launched in June 2005. Initial research on the benefits of CC4G has indicated that 66 per cent. of the participants are now considering future IT careers.
	We acknowledge that there is still more work to do, and I look forward to the Women and Work Commission's findings and recommendations in their final report in the coming weeks, as they have looked at the occupational segregation as part of the gender pay gap.

Commission for Equality and Human Rights

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding local race equality work will be allocated in the Commission for Equality and Human Rights.

Meg Munn: The Government has given a commitment, through the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, to continue to support the network of Racial Equality Councils and its anti -discrimination and local race equality work. The work of the RECs is an important foundation on which the new Commission will build.
	Government has made clear that funding for race equality work through the RECs will continue at the current level for the foreseeable future.

Consumer Credit Bill

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the planned timetable is for the implementation of the Consumer Credit Bill.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Consumer Credit Bill is still under consideration by Parliament and it is therefore too early to say exactly what the implementation timetable will be at this stage. However, we would aim to implement the bulk of the legislative provisions as soon as practicable after Royal Assent, taking into account the time needed for consultation and for the system changes that the regulator and industry will need to make. It is unlikely, therefore that any changes would come into effect before April 2006 and some will take longer.

Departmental Expenditure

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent on advertising by (a) his Department, (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which his Department is responsible and (c) each independent statutory body, organisation and body financially sponsored by his Department in each year since May 1997.

Alan Johnson: For expenditure on advertising by my Department through COI from 1995–96 to 2000–01, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Twickenham on 20 November 2001, Official Report, column 162W. Expenditure for 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04 (to date) was £6,610,240, £13,741,906 and £2,044,497 respectively. These figures include advertising by the Small Business Service and exclude VAT.
	Information on publicity expenditure from centrally held budgets is contained in the Government's expenditure plans and, more recently, the DTI's annual departmental report, which are available in the Libraries of the House. Figures relating to other information campaigns, and information on publicity and advertising by NDPBs, are not held centrally and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
	Letter from Claire Clancy, dated 24 January 2006
	I am responding to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on behalf of Companies House, which is an Executive Agency of the DTI.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2000–01 401,245 
			 2001–02 586,203 
			 2002–03 376,641 
			 2003–04 362,526 
			 2004–05 533,310 
			 2005–06 409,055 
		
	
	Advertising is mainly for compliance issues, particularly to remind company directors on their statutory duties to file accounts within the designated timescales.
	I am sorry that figures for earlier years are unavailable due to the disproportionate cost of retrieval.
	Letter from Jeanne Spinks, dated 24 January 2006
	You asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much was spent on advertising by (a) his Department, (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which his Department is responsible and (c) each independent statutory body, organisation and body financially sponsored by his Department in each year since May 1997.
	The Employment Tribunals Service has had no expenditure on advertising for the years in question.
	Letter from Dr. Jeff Llewellyn, dated 24 January 2006
	The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) to your question regarding how much was spent on advertising by (a) his Department, (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which his Department is responsible and (c) each independent statutory body, organisation and body financially sponsored by his Department in each year since May 1997.
	NWML spent the following amounts on advertising during this period (the amounts of 03/04 onwards are actual, amounts before this are estimates):
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 800 
			 1998–99 800 
			 1999–2000 1,000 
			 2000–01 1,000 
			 2001–02 1,500 
			 2002–03 1,500 
			 2003–04 3,715 
			 2004–05 1,430 
			 2005–06 (14)437 
		
	
	(14) Year to date.
	Letter from Desmond Flynn, dated 24 January 2006
	The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply to you directly on behalf of The Insolvency Service in respect of your question (2005/2524) asking how much was spent on advertising by (a) his department, (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which his department is responsible and (c) each independent statutory body, organisation and body financially sponsored by his Department in each year since May 1997.
	The Insolvency Service has not spent any money on advertising from May 1997 to date.
	Letter from Ron Marchant, dated 24 January 2006
	I am responding to this parliamentary question, tabled on 16 December 2005, regarding advertising spend by the Patent Office since 1997.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 8,908 
			 1998–99 12,364 
			 1999–2000 2,951 
			 2000–01 7,391 
			 2001–02 4,822 
			 2002–03 3,569 
			 200304 1,500 
			 200405 21,500 
			 2005–06(15) 825 
		
	
	(15) To date

Departmental Expenditure

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent by his Department on refreshments in each year since 1997.

Alan Johnson: Information on refreshments specifically is not available. However, the table shows the total expenditure on entertainment by the Department of Trade and Industry in each year between 1998–99 and 2004–05. Information on spend for 1997–98 would be available only at disproportionate cost.
	The majority of the Department's entertainment expenditure represents the hosting of stakeholder events both in the UK and overseas. This includes refreshments at meetings, working breakfasts and lunches and official events.
	All expenditure of official entertainment is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government accounting.
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 1999–2000 887 
			 2000–01 1,089 
			 2001–02 1,165 
			 2002–03 1,311 
			 2003–04 1,110 
			 2004–05 1,777

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make it his policy to publish as an annex to his annual report a list of all publications published by his Department in the preceding year; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: Details of major consultations and publications issued this year will be included within the 2006 Departmental Report. There are no plans to publish details of all publications separately as an annex. All DTI Publications currently available are listed on the DTI website at www.dti.gov.uk/publications/, the website covers all document formats including hard-copy and electronic versions.

Lending Companies

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many registered lending companies there were in the (a) Leeds, metropolitan district and (b) Leeds, West constituency in each year since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is responsible for issuing consumer credit licenses and maintaining a public register of licensed traders. However this information is not held in constituency or Post Code order.

Renewable Energy

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what grants are available for (a) domestic and (b) non-domestic micro-renewable energy installations in (i) England and (ii) Wales.

Malcolm Wicks: Grants are available for domestic and non-domestic micro renewable installations through two programmes. Clear Skies offers grants for the installation of solar water heating, small wind, micro hydro, ground source heat pumps and biomass heating, further details can be found on the website www.clear-skies.org. The Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme also offers grant for the installation of photovoltaic panels for the production of electricity, for further details please see the website www.solarpvgrants.co.uk
	Both these programmes will be superseded by a new Low Carbon Buildings Programme, which is due to start in April 2006, subject to EU State Aids approval.

Sunday Trading

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultants the Government have invited to conduct the analysis of the case for deregulation of Sunday trading hours.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has appointed Indepen Consulting Ltd. to conduct an independent economic cost-benefit analysis of the impact of further liberalisation of Sunday Trading.

Sunday Trading

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2005, Official Report, column 1675W, on Sunday trading, when he expects the cost-benefit analysis report to be (a) completed and (b) published.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I expect the consultants' report to be submitted in the spring. We will place it on DTI's website shortly thereafter.

UK-registered Companies

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many UK registered companies operate in South and Central America, broken down by country.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 20 January 2006
	The Department does not record this information.

UK-registered Companies

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what dates in 2005 officials from his Department had meetings with British companies working in South America; and what was discussed at each meeting.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 20 January 2006
	The Department does not maintain a composite record of such meetings.

CABINET OFFICE

Departmental Staff

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many disciplinary actions against civil servants employed in his Department (a) were commenced and (b) resulted in a sanction being applied in each of the last five years.

Jim Murphy: The following table shows the number of disciplinary actions involving serious or gross misconduct taken against civil servants employed in the Cabinet Office in the years 2001 to 2005. With one exception in 2004, a sanction was applied in each case.
	
		
			  Disciplinary actions 
		
		
			 2001 9 
			 2002 7 
			 2003 5 
			 2004 9 
			 2005 4 
		
	
	The department's disciplinary process reflects statutory requirements and is available on the department's intranet to all employees.

Data Sharing

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the documents and publications on data sharing in the public sector the Cabinet Office and e-government agencies have placed in the public domain since 2001.

Jim Murphy: The Cabinet Office does not hold this information centrally. However, a list has been compiled from available records and has been placed in the Library.

Data Sharing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what consultation his Department has undertaken on the privacy of data sharing within the delivery of more secure public services.

Jim Murphy: In April 2002, the Performance and Innovation Unit (now the Strategy Unit) published a report Privacy and Data sharing: the way forward for public services" and sought public consultation on some of its key recommendations. Further work on data sharing and the privacy aspect is included in the Government report Transformational Government—Enabled by Technology", (CM6683) published in November 2005. This Strategy as a whole is currently out for consultation which is due to close 3 February 2006. There is also regular consultation with the information technology industry and others on standards within the e-Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF).

Delivery Unit

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what have been the main outputs from the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit since its inception.

Jim Murphy: The Prime Minister's Delivery Unit (PMDU) was formed in the summer of 2001. Its mission is to help Government to deliver better and more efficient public services. It does this by monitoring and reporting to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on delivery of his top delivery and reform priorities, and identifying and working with Departments to overcome the key barriers to improvement.
	It remains the responsibility of Secretaries of State to deliver public service outcomes. Since 2001 PMDU has worked most closely with the Department of Health, Home Office, the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Transport. These Departments have achieved improvements in a number of their public service agreement (PSA) target areas.

External Consultants

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much his Department has paid since 2004 to external consultants who had previously been employed by the Department in any capacity within the previous five years.

Jim Murphy: The information requested for the Cabinet Office is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Pension Entitlements

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the Government's policy is on pension entitlement for those taking up a public appointment; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: Most public appointments are not pensionable. Where an appointee receives remuneration and has executive responsibilities he or she may be provided with a pension. It is the responsibility of individual Departments to set the terms and conditions for their own appointments, including pension entitlement. The publication from Her Majesty's Treasury's 'Board Members anvd Public Appointees: Pension and Compensation Guidance Notes' sets out the points that departments need to consider when making any pension arrangements for such appointments. The guidance is available on Her Majesty's Treasury's website at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk./media/36F/03/pensions_board_mem_230604.pdf

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bangladesh

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on current levels of inter-community violence in Bangladesh, with particular reference to the Muslim and Hindu communities

Kim Howells: The Government of Bangladesh has assured us of its commitment to safeguard the rights and freedoms of all its citizens, and we welcome this. There are, however, continuing concerns about the situation of religious minorities in Bangladesh and acts of repression against them and indigenous groups. In 2005, there were reports of attacks on Hindus and Ahmadiyyas, ranging from serious crimes such as murder and grievous bodily harm, to public order offences and criminal damage. I raised these concerns with the authorities when I visited Bangladesh in November 2005.
	The High Commission in Dhaka closely monitors incidents of religious persecution and intolerance and regularly lobbies ministers and officials on these issues. Both bilaterally and with our EU partners we shall continue to encourage the Government of Bangladesh to meet its constitutional and international obligations on human rights.
	Most recently, in December, the High Commissioner directly lobbied the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister, Morshed Khan, about a potentially violent demonstration against the Ahmadiyyas from the International Khatme Nabuwat Movement. The Bangladeshi authorities did respond effectively, preventing violence on this occasion.

China

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of Chinese investments in Commonwealth countries in Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Department has not calculated Chinese investments in Commonwealth African countries. However, China is Africa's third most important trade partner, and investments are accelerating in minerals, raw materials and energy. Through the Department for International Development Office in Beijing, we discuss with China the impact its activities and investments are having on poorer nations, including in Africa.

China

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the EU Council of Ministers last met the Chinese Foreign Minister to discuss Chinese investments in Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The EU Council of Ministers has not met the Chinese Foreign Minister to discuss this issue. However, there have been informal discussions on China's role in Africa in the EU context. On 9 December the EU Secretariat organised the first Africa Task Force meeting to discuss this issue with Chinese representatives. The UK supported this useful initiative led by Koen Vervaeke, the Council Secretariat Head of the Africa Task Force.

China

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last raised the issue of China's raw materials investment programme in African countries with his Chinese counterpart; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, has not raised the issue of Chinese investments in African countries. In ministerial contacts with the Chinese ambassador, we have argued for a responsible investment policy, and we have expressed concern about Chinese commercial support for countries with internal problems such as Zimbabwe and Sudan.

Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will reply to the letter of 28 October 2005 from the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood, on behalf of Nazia Mahmood (post reference 728276, reference M1265571, acknowledgement reference B2588015).

Kim Howells: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate passed the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood's letter to UKvisas on 18 January. UKvisas will reply as soon as possible.

Cuba

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Cuba about the detention of Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: We are very concerned about the plight of Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, particularly the effect of the severe conditions of his confinement on his health. Our embassy in Havana continues to monitor Dr. Biscet's case and maintains close contact with his supporters and family. Most recently, a member of our embassy staff met his wife in December 2005. The Government considers his imprisonment to be a grave violation of his civil and political freedoms, and in particular his freedom of expression as recognised in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which includes the right 'to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers'.
	We regularly raise the situation of all political prisoners in Cuba with Cuban authorities both in London and Havana, and call for their immediate release. My noble Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister responsible for relations with Cuba, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, most recently raised this with the Cuban Ambassador on 8 November 2005 at the all party parliamentary group Cuba meeting. During our presidency of the EU we issued a number of statements reiterating this message and condemning Cuba's human rights record.

Cyprus

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Turkish Government in respect of proposals to build leisure, tourist and educational facilities on illegally-occupied land in the Morphou district of northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: We are aware of plans to build leisure, tourist and educational facilities in the Morphou district of northern Cyprus. While we maintain a dialogue with the Turkish Cypriot community on all aspects of the Cyprus settlement, the Government are not in a position to control property development in the north. We recognise that the Turkish Cypriots face powerful economic forces in a perverse political environment and believe that the difficult and complex issues relating to property in Cyprus can only be resolved as part of a comprehensive settlement.

Cyprus

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs where he plans to meet Mr. Talat during his forthcoming visit to Cyprus; and in what capacity he is meeting him.

Douglas Alexander: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, plans to meet Mehmet Ali Talat in his offices as leader of the Turkish Cypriot community during his forthcoming visit to Cyprus. This is in keeping with past practice.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the current flows of small arms to warring factions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and what measures he is taking to ensure a better enforcement of the arms embargo.

Ian Pearson: The borders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remain porous. Smuggling of small arms to dissident forces is generally small-scale. Throughout eastern DRC, the illicit exploitation of natural resources is connected with the continued proliferation of small arms to the armed factions that guard these mines.
	In the UN Security Council in November 2005, the UK and other partners successfully sought agreement to name individuals and organisations responsible for arms embargo violations as provided for in UN Security Council Resolution 1649. These violators will now be targeted by sanctions including asset freezes and travel bans. We are currently considering the most recent report of the United Nations group of experts, and will be discussing within the Security Council later this month what action can be taken to improve implementation of the arms embargo.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received concerning the state of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and what recent representations have been made to the government of that country by his Department.

Ian Pearson: We have received regular representations from local and international non-governmental organisations regarding the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Years of conflict, exacerbated by corruption, illegal exploitation of resources, the collapse of the state and chronic poverty, have led to a high level of human rights violations and abuses of humanitarian standards.
	The UK frequently reminds the DRC authorities of the need to protect the rights of all vulnerable groups and to bring to justice all perpetrators of abuse. An EU-led Resolution on the DRC adopted at this year's UN General Assembly makes clear that the DRC Government must take action to improve human rights conditions, through better command and control of the armed forces, improved freedom of expression and better protection for human rights defenders.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions consular officials have visited Mr. Hilal Al Jedda in Iraq; and what other consular assistance has been offered to him.

Ian Pearson: Consular officials have not visited or provided any consular assistance to Mr. Al Jedda, who is a dual Iraqi-British National.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Mr. Hilal Al Jedda will be tried according to international norms or returned home to the United Kingdom.

Ian Pearson: Mr. Al Jedda is detained in Iraq pursuant to UN Security Council resolutions 1546 (2004) and 1637 (2005) and Iraqi legislation, which authorise the Multi-National Force in Iraq to detain persons where this is necessary for imperative reasons of security. He is not currently facing any criminal charges. Mr. Al Jedda travelled voluntarily to Iraq and the UK Government are under no obligation to return him to the UK.

Natural Disasters

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what UK financial aid has been offered to UK expatriates resident in areas that suffered from natural disasters in 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, we provided the following assistance:
	
		
			 Details Cost (£) 
		
		
			 Return airfares for a British husband and wife Atlanta/ London/Atlanta. 3,544.48 
			 Return airfares for a British mother and daughter Atlanta/ London/Atlanta. 10,571.60 
			 The cost of the funeral of a British national, who died during the hurricane in New Orleans. 944.69 
		
	
	In the Bali bombing in October 2005, one dual British/Australian national, resident in Australia was killed and a British resident in Australia was injured, along with her Australian husband. Under the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Aftercare plan for victims of acts of terrorism overseas, we provided the following assistance:
	
		
			 Details Cost (£) 
		
		
			 Return flights to Australia for two bereaved family members, one from UK and one from Canada. 7,003.65 
			 Medical evacuation from Bali to Singapore and hospital treatment for the injured British national. Return flight London to Singapore and five nights accommodation in Singapore for her sister. 5,234.47 
		
	
	All of the costs indicated were incurred by the FCO. The Department for International Development made no expenditure on UK expatriates resident in areas that suffered from natural disasters in 2005.

Taiwan

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Ministers in his Department have visited Taiwan in the course of their ministerial duties since 1997.

Ian Pearson: There have been no Foreign and Commonwealth Office ministerial visits since 1997.

Taiwan

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last raised the sovereignty of Taiwan with his Chinese counterpart.

Ian Pearson: In their bilateral meeting, during the Chinese State Visit in November 2005, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed Taiwan with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister also discussed Taiwan with President Hu during his meeting.
	Our long-standing position on Taiwan remains unchanged: that is, we acknowledge the position of the Chinese Government that Taiwan is a province of China and recognise the Chinese Government as the sole legal government of China. The United Kingdom considers the Taiwan issue is one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. We are strongly opposed to any use of force and urge both sides to engage in constructive dialogue.

Turkey

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to ensure that progress is made under the Austrian presidency on negotiations regarding Turkish membership of the European Union.

Douglas Alexander: Under the Austrian presidency, the Commission is taking forward the negotiations following the framework agreed on 3 October. It is currently continuing its process of screening Turkey's legislation against the EU acquis. Following the presentation of the Commission's screening reports, member states will consider whether to set benchmarks for Turkey to fulfil before the opening of individual chapters and will then consider whether any chapters are ready to be opened. Throughout the process, the Government will seek to ensure that Turkey be treated on its own merits, just as would any other state negotiating for accession.

War Compensation Scheme

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  whether former British prisoners of war formerly held in Germany are able to apply under the German prisoner of war compensation scheme;
	(2)  what progress his Department has made in its examination of the German compensation scheme for prisoners of war.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, Dr. Lewis Moonie, in a debate on this issue on 5 April 2001, Official Report, columns 602–04.
	The only relevant German compensation scheme of which the Government are aware is the German Forced Labour Compensation Programme, administered for the purposes of the UK by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which provides financial compensation to former slave and forced labourers. The German authorities have made clear that this programme specifically excludes Prisoners of War (PoW) as the funds were intended to compensate foreign national civilians who were forcibly conscripted by the Nazis to work as 'slave labourers'. The IOM has administered the scheme accordingly. This meant that being a PoW was not in itself a cause for entitlement to compensation. The deadline for applications to the IOM expired in August 2001.

HOME DEPARTMENT

0870 Numbers

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the occasions in the last five years on which 0870 telephone numbers have been used by his Department as contact numbers for members of the public; and how much revenue was received from the use of 0870 contact numbers in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Charles Clarke: Available records indicate that the 0870 numbers given in the following table have been used by the Home Office and its agencies. On 15 September 2005 the 0870 Home Office general public inquiry number was replaced with a geographical number. The department received no income from calls to the switchboard.
	The 0870 numbers used by the Immigration and Nationality Enquiry Bureau (INEB) have been in existence since December 1998 and are published widely. The then Home Secretary, Jack Straw, in March 1998 agreed to the use of 0870 numbers on the understanding that IND re-invest monies earned into improving the telephone bureau operation and thereby customer service. In spring 2002, £750,000 was used to purchase a switchboard with increased functionality for INEB.
	Figures are not available for the last five years. For the period one January 2004 to 31 August 2004, IND received £72,067 from BT for the use of 0870 telephone numbers. IND now take no revenue. The use of 0870 numbers in IND is being reviewed. The UK Passport Service have no record of the revenue generated before the financial year 2002–03.
	The following revenue was generated:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2002–03 230,593.85 
			 2003–04 252,127.53 
			 2004–05 383,264.74 
			 1 April to 31 October 2005 238,605.96 
		
	
	The Criminal Records Bureau operates as a public/private partnership with Capita Plc and operates six 0870 telephone numbers as contact numbers for the public. The Home Office receives no revenue for calls made to these numbers.
	
		0870 Numbers in use within the Home Office
		
			  
		
		
			 Home Office Public Enquiries(replaced with 020 7035 4848 on 15 September 2005) 0870 000 1585 
			   
			 Immigration and Nationality Directorate  
			 Main 0870 606 7766 
			 Application Forms 0870 241 0645 
			 Complaints 0870 241 6523 
			   
			 UK Passport Service  
			 Main 0870 521 0410 
			 Textphone 0870 240 8090 
			 High Street Partners 0870 243 4477 
			 Complaints 0870 241 1902 
			 Siemens Business Services (initial application check) 0870 125 1256 
			   
			 Criminal Record Bureau  
			 Main 0870 909 0811 
			 Registration 0870 909 0822 
			 Disclosure applications 0870 909 0844 
			 Minicom 0870 909 0344 
			 Disputes 0870 909 0778 
			 Welsh language line 0870 909 0223 
			   
			 HM Prison Service  
			 Main 0870 000 1397 
			 HMP Holloway 0870 000 0575 
			 TOGETHER  
			 Advice to practitioners on tackling anti-social behaviour 0870 220 2000 
			   
			 Crime Reduction  
			 Advice on preventing car crime 0870 000 8518 
			   
			 Security Industry Authority 0870 243 0100

Alcohol Sales (Under-age People)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices were issued for (a) consumption of alcohol by and (b) selling alcohol to under age people in (i) Essex and (ii) Castle Point in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND) scheme was brought into effect in England and Wales during 2003–04 to provide the police with a quick and effective means of dealing with minor offences. Under the scheme an offender is issued with a fixed penalty notice and has 21 days in which to pay the penalty or request a court hearing.
	The offences of sale of alcohol to a person under 18 and consumption of alcohol by a person aged under 18 in licensed premises were added to the scheme with effect from 1 November 2004. The numbers of penalty notices issued for offences related to buying and consuming alcohol in Essex police force area, are provided in the table.
	It is not possible to identify all Penalty Notices issued in Castle Point because the data is not broken down to that level of detail.
	
		Number of penalty notices for disorder for certain offences relating to alcohol, Essex police force area, 2004 and 2005(provisional)(16)
		
			 Offence description 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Selling alcohol to person under 18 7 85 
			 Consumption of alcohol by under 18 in licensed  premises — — 
		
	
	(16) Provisional data January to September 2005

Antisocial Behaviour

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what proportion of antisocial behaviour orders issued to (a) under 18s and (b) under 16s have been breached in each year since 1999;
	(2)  what proportion of antisocial behaviour orders have been breached in each year since 1999 .

Hazel Blears: Antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) breach data are currently available from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2003 for ASBOs issued since 1 June 2000. Age data are for those aged 10–17 and 18 and over. During this period 47 per cent. of ASBOs issued to persons aged 10–17 within the period were breached on one or more occasions. The corresponding percentage for those aged 18 and over is 38 per cent. The overall breach rate is 42 per cent.

Antisocial Behaviour

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in (a) Derbyshire and (b) Amber Valley have been issued with anti-social behaviour orders (a) in total and (b) in each year since their introduction.

Hazel Blears: A table giving a breakdown by the criminal justice system area and local government authority area in which prohibitions are imposed within antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) is available on the crime reduction website at www.crimereduction.gov.uk. This table gives data by year since ASBOs were introduced up to 30 June 2005 (latest available).

Antisocial Behaviour

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in each area since their inception; how many breaches have been recorded; how many prosecutions for breach there have been; how many recordings for breach have been obtained; and if he will make a statement on his policy on the recording of breaches.

Hazel Blears: A table giving a breakdown by the criminal justice system area and local government authority area in which prohibitions are imposed within antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) is available on the Crime Reduction website at www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
	This table gives data by year since ASBOs were introduced up to 30 June 2005 (latest available).The number of times persons have breached their ASBOs are not collected centrally.
	The Home Office Court Proceedings Database (HOCPD) only holds breach proceedings where there has been a conviction for breach of an ASBO. ASBO breach data are currently available from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2003 for ASBOs issued since 1 June 2000. Of the number of ASBOs issued during this period, as notified to the Home Office, the HOCPD records 2,053 occasions where a conviction was recorded for breaching an ASBO.

Asylum/Immigration

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers (a) whose claims are being processed and (b) who are appealing against a refusal for asylum are resident in the UK.

Tony McNulty: As at the end of September 2005 there were 6,100 asylum applicants awaiting an initial decision (4,000 cases were work in progress ie the application had been outstanding for six months or less), all residing in the UK. As at the end of September 2005 the total asylum work in progress at the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal was 9,000 (to the nearest thousand).
	A proportion of the 9,000 will be non-suspensive appeals, for which the appellant is residing outside the UK. Information on asylum applications is published quarterly. The next publication covering the last quarter of 2004 will be available on 22 February 2005 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Asylum/Immigration

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in Leeds, North West are (a) registered as asylum seekers and (b) registered migrants awaiting decision to be awarded status to remain in the UK.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 15 December 2005
	Statistics on the location of asylum seekers in the UK are linked to the available information on the support that the asylum seeker receives. The number of asylum seekers supported by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) are published on a quarterly and annual basis, broken down by local authority.

Asylum/Immigration

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what monitoring of the safety and welfare of deported asylum seekers to (a) Somaliland and (b) Somalia is undertaken; and from what sources his Department gains information to assess the personal safety and security of such people.

Tony McNulty: As with returns to all countries, the Home Office does not routinely monitor the treatment of individual Somali nationals (both from Somalia and Somaliland) once removed from the UK. Where we refuse a claim and the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) dismisses any appeal we consider that it is safe for that individual to return. This is one of the reasons why the Government do not routinely monitor the treatment of individuals once removed from the UK.
	However, if specific allegations are made that any returnee has experienced ill-treatment on return from the UK, these are followed up through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British high commission in Nairobi as a matter of urgency. The Government consider the safety of any prospective returnee at the initial decision stage and it is also covered by the AIT at the appeal stage. These assessments are made against the background of current information from a wide range of well-recognised sources about the situation in Somalia, including inter-governmental bodies, governmental sources and non-governmental human rights organisations.

Asylum/Immigration

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Scottish First Minister about the use of dawn raids in asylum cases.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 7 November 2005
	My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and I have had discussions in person and on the phone with the First Minister on this and other subjects. In addition Immigration Service officials have met with officials from the Scottish Executive and Scotland Office in order to discuss the removal of failed asylum seeking families from Scotland.

Asylum/Immigration

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers sought by his Department have been found through the use of Quick Check since its inception; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Quick Check records are available from one August 2004. Between this date, and 29 October 2005, a total of 60,660 Quick Check searches were submitted to the Immigration Asylum Fingerprint System (IAFS) database, and 25,283 possible matches identified.
	Fingerprints captured by Quick Checks can be matched against those on an Application Registration Card (ARC), or transmitted for searching on the IAFS database. The result, which is automatically forwarded to the sender, is either Possible Identification", this may require fingerprint expert verification, or No match". Asylum status is not available on results forwarded from the IAFS to Quick Checks.

Audible Fire Alarms

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the premises occupied by his Department is fitted with audible fire alarms.

Charles Clarke: The Department is committed to ensuring compliance with fire safety law in premises it occupies. It is estimated that the proportion of premises occupied by the Department with audible fire alarm systems is roughly 90 per cent. The Department does not hold a central record of precisely how many premises have audible fire alarm systems. Instances where audible fire alarm systems are not installed include small buildings where there is no requirement under the Building Regulations. Otherwise some areas where persons are held in custody do not have audible fire alarm systems but in these instances controlled and managed contingency procedures will be in place.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what mechanisms are in place to ensure access by individuals to information about themselves gathered by means of the automatic number plate recognition system;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the impact on personal privacy of rolling out the automatic number plate recognition system.

Hazel Blears: My officials have been working closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to ensure that information collected by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technologies and retained by the police is cognisant of the relevant data protection legislation. The specific ACPO guidance ensures that the principles detailed in part one of schedule one of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 are followed by all police forces in relation to access to this information by individuals.
	This document covers the European Convention for Human Rights, Data Protection, the Regulatory Investigative Powers Act 2000 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 relating to the police use of ANPR (excluding speed enforcement devices) and is applicable to all police forces in England and Wales.

Bicester Accommodation Centre

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much compensation was awarded to GSL UK Ltd. for (a) construction works, (b) design works, (c) legal costs, (d) financial costs and (e) professional advisory costs on termination of the contract to build an accommodation centre for asylum seekers at Bicester.

Tony McNulty: No compensation has been paid to GSL (UK) Ltd. following termination of the contract to design, build and operate the accommodation centre near Bicester. All amounts certified for payment to GSL (UK) Ltd. are covered by the contract, which also allows for a number of merited payments in the event of voluntary termination of the contract by the Home Office. The information relating to those payments is not available in the form requested. It could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Bicester Accommodation Centre

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to his Department was of purchasing site A at Ministry of Defence Bicester to build an accommodation centre for asylum seekers.

Tony McNulty: The cost of the land was £3.25 millions; there were additional transaction costs of some £16,000.

Bicester Accommodation Centre

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date GSL UK Ltd. signed the contract to build an accommodation centre for asylum seekers at Bicester.

Tony McNulty: The contract is dated 17 June 2004.

Bicester Accommodation Centre

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date his Department agreed a compensation package with GSL UK Ltd. after the contract to build an accommodation centre for asylum seekers at Bicester was terminated.

Tony McNulty: Discussions of GSL's claim under the contract termination procedure continue.

Bicester Accommodation Centre

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to his Department was of pursuing plans for an accommodation centre for asylum seekers at Bicester (a) at planning inquiry and (b) at judicial review.

Tony McNulty: The information is not available in the form requested. It could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Cash-in-transit Crime

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 11 October 2005, Official Report, column 2526W, on cash-in-transit attacks, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the British Security Industry Association and (b) the police since September regarding the reduction of cash-in-transit robberies in England and Wales; and what progress has been made in developing national strategies to reduce such attacks.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 16 January 2006
	I had a very constructive meeting with representatives of the British Security Industry Association, the GMB union and Group four Securicor on 18 January 2006, where we agreed to work together, with other partners, on devising ways to reduce the number of cash-in-transit robberies.

Charity Commission

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether the Charity Commission is required to investigate a charity more than once in relation to the same allegations without the provision of additional documentary evidence;
	(2)  whether the activities of charities are inspected on a regular basis by the Charity Commission; and how often such inspections took place in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: This is a matter for the Charity Commission as the Government Department responsible for the regulation of charities in England and Wales. The chief executive of the Charity Commission will write to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

Codes of Practice (Compliance Auditing)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the Codes of Practice of (a) the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and (b) the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 are audited for compliance; who is responsible for auditing compliance; and whether the reports on compliance are published.

Hazel Blears: Compliance with the PACE and CPIA Codes is an operational issue for the chief officer of the force concerned. Police officers are required to keep decision logs stating decisions made and the reasons for those decisions. Senior supervising officers are required to monitor and supervise the use and application of the provisions of the codes.
	Any breach of the codes may result in an officer facing action under disciplinary and complaints procedures. The Crown Prosecution Service will consider the investigation into a case before deciding to charge. The Attorney-General's guidelines on disclosure place specific duties on the CPS to review police documentation under the CPIA Code; PACE Code C provisions require compliance with the guidelines when considering a decision to charge a suspect.
	The courts who provide routine oversight of the police's compliance with both the PACE and the CPIA Codes, in that, for example, the defendant may raise a successful abuse of process argument at the trial based on an alleged breach; the court may decide to exclude evidence and the defendant may be acquitted as a result.
	Independent Custody Visitors and Appropriate Adults are empowered to examine and report on the conditions and treatment of detainees in police custody in accordance the safeguards set out in PACE Code C.

Community Support Officers

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what period funding allocations for community support officers (CSOs) will apply; and what plans he has for funding CSOs when the current funding period expires.

Hazel Blears: We are making available £88 million in 2006–07 and £340 million in 2007–08 through the Neighbourhood Policing Fund (NPF) to help forces increase community support officer (CSO) numbers to 24,000 by March 2008. In addition, we continue to provide funding support of £44 million in 2006–07 and £47 million in 2007–08, for a number of CSOs recruited by forces before the NPF was introduced. We have made it clear that, we will sustain the investment in CSOs and in the longer term we will put this money into general police funding.

Consultants

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent on consultants in each year since 1997.

Charles Clarke: The information held by the Home Office on its spend on consultants is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 7,627,016 
			 1998–99 4,588,445 
			 1999–2000 10,302,672 
			 2000–01 27,877,286 
			 2001–02 21,147,058 
			 2002–03 Not held 
			 2003–04 106,800,000 
			 2004–05 46,900,000 
		
	
	We do not hold information on the Department's total expenditure on consultants for 2002–03 and to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	The best information available for the financial year 2003–04 from interrogation of the business and accounting strategic system (BASS), indicates that the cost of external consultants to the department in 2003–04 was £106.8 million.
	The best information available for the financial year 2004–05 from the interrogation of the Adelphi Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system accounts payable module indicates that the cost of external consultants to the department was £46.9 million.
	The department awards contracts in open competition according to the EU procurement regulations based on best value for money. The use of external consultants in the Home Office provides the department with specialist knowledge, skill, capacity and technical expertise that is not otherwise available in-house.

Crime

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 1 November 2005, Official Report, column 925W, on crime, what plans he has to extend the Partners Against Crime Partnership; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: A local evaluation of this trial initiative, which was set up in partnership by Dyfed-Powys police and the Post Office Ltd., began at the end of the initiative in October 2005. I understand that the evaluation will be completed in spring 2006.
	Any decision to extend the Partners Against Crime Partnership will be made by local police and partners when the evaluation has been completed.

Crime

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reported level of (a) burglaries and (b) robberies was in the last period for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: The latest figures relate to England and Wales as a whole for the period April to June 2005. The figures were published in Table A (page 10) of 'Crime in England and Wales: Quarterly Update to June 2005'.
	The publication is Home Office Statistical Bulletin 18/05 and can be accessed online via the following link:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/hosbpubs1.html

Crime

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of levels of (a) violent crime, (b) car crime, (c) robbery and (d) burglary in Tamworth constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The available information relates to recorded offences in the Tamworth Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership area and is given in the table.
	
		Offences recorded in the Tamworth crime and disorder reduction partnership area, 2004–05
		
			 Offence Number of offences 
		
		
			 Violent crime(17) 2,436 
			 Car crime 800 
			 Robbery 80 
			 Domestic burglary 444 
		
	
	(17) Includes offences of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.

Crime

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences involving air weapons there have been in each division of the Staffordshire police force in each year since 2001.

Hazel Blears: Centrally-collected data for recorded crime involving firearms in England and Wales are only available at police force level. Staffordshire Police recorded 270 offences involving air weapons in 2001–02, 309 in 2002–03 and 274 in 2003–04. The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Figures before and after this date are not directly comparable.

Criminal Record Checks

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many criminal record checks were carried out in each year since 2002; and how many of these were (a) standard disclosure and (b) enhanced disclosure.

Andy Burnham: The total number of standard and enhanced CRB checks issued in each year since 2002 is broken down as follows:
	
		Number
		
			  Standard Enhanced Total 
		
		
			 11 March 2002 to 31 December 2002 118,599 808,564 927,163 
			 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003 271,952 1,886,197 2,158,149 
			 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2004 286,984 2,198,362 2,485,346 
			 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2005 298,315 2,391,694 2,690,009 
		
	
	The information requested by the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton regarding CRB checks issued specifically for positions within schools is not available. However, details of the total number of disclosures issued for the education sector are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Number disclosures 
		
		
			 2002–03 439,000 
			 2003–04 553,000 
			 2004–05 596,000 
			 2005–31 December 516,000 
		
	
	On average, 93 percent. of disclosures issued to the education sector are at the enhanced level.

Criminal Record Checks

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests for criminal record checks were made by schools in each year since 2002; and how many of these requests were for (a) standard disclosure and (b) enhanced disclosure.

Andy Burnham: The total number of standard and enhanced CRB checks issued in each year since 2002 is broken down as follows:
	
		
			  Standard Enhanced Total 
		
		
			 11 March 2002 to 31 December 2002 118,599 808,564 927,163 
			 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003 271,952 1,886,197 2,158,149 
			 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2004 286,984 2,198,362 2,485,34 
			 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2005 298,315 2,391,694 2,690,009 
		
	
	The information requested by the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton regarding CRB checks issued specifically for positions within schools is not available. However, details of the total number of disclosures issued for the education sector are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Number disclosures 
		
		
			 2002–03 439,000 
			 2003–04 553,000 
			 2004–05 596,000 
			 31 December 2005 516,000 
		
	
	On average, 93 per cent. of disclosures issued to the education sector are at the enhanced level.

Criminal Records Bureau

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) basic, (b) standard and (c) enhanced disclosures have been issued by the Criminal Records Bureau in the last year for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: The Criminal Records Bureau issued 298,315 Standard Disclosures and 2,391,694 Enhanced Disclosures between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2005. In that time no Basic Disclosures were issued because this product has not yet been launched.

Criminal Records Bureau

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the current average time is that a school may expect to wait for an enhanced disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau for a prospective member of its teaching staff.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 20 January 2006
	Information is not available to provide an answer to the hon. Member for Mid-Dorset and North Poole in the specific format requested. However, during the 12 month period up to 31 December 2005, the average time for completion of all Enhanced Disclosures is 31.5 days, excluding any time an application has to be returned to a customer.

Animal Welfare

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted of cruelty towards animals in Swindon in each year since 1997.

Paul Goggins: Persons found guilty for various offences connected with animal cruelty are shown in the table for Swindon petty sessional area, 1998 to 2004.
	
		Number of offenders1 found guilty for offences relating to animal cruelty in Swindon petty sessional area, 1997–2004
		
			 Number of offenders 
			 Statute 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Protection of Animals Act, 1911 (as amended) 4 7 11 5 1 1 — 7 
			 Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 Sec 8 — — — — — — — — 
			 Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925 — — — — — — — — 
			 Protection of Animals Act, 1934 — — — — — — — — 
			 Docking and Nicking of Horses Act, 1949 — — — — — — — — 
			 Pet Animals Act, 1951 — — — — — — — — 
			 Cockfighting Act, 1952 — — — — — — — — 
			 Protection of Animals (Amendment) Act, 1954 1 1 2 — — — — — 
			 Animal Health Act, 1981, Sees 40–42, 46 and 49 and Orders made under Sees 8, 9, 37, 38, 39 and 43 — — — — — — — — 
			 Slaughterhouses Act, 1974 — — — — — — — — 
			 Abandonment of Animals Act, 1960, Sec 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Animal and Animal Products (Import and Export) Regulations 1988 — — — — — — — — 
			 Animals (Cruel Poisons) Act, 1962 — — — — — — — — 
			 Animal Boarding Establishments Act, 1963 — — — — — — — — 
			 Riding Establishments Acts, 1964 and 1970 — — — — — — — — 
			 Slaughter of Poultry Act, 1967 — — — — — — — — 
			 Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1968, Sees 1, 2 and 6 — — — — — — — — 
			 Protection of Badgers Act, 1992 (except Sec 13) — — — — — — — — 
			 Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 Sec 9 — — — — — — — — 
			 Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 Sec 11 — — — — — — — — 
			 Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 — — — — — — — 1 
			 Breeding of Dogs Acts 1973 and 1991 — — — — — — — — 
			 Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999 — — — — — — — — 
			 Diseases of Animals Act — — — — 2 — — — 
			 Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Sees 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 17 — — — — — — — — 
			 Total 5 8 13 5 3 1 — 8 
		
	
	(18) Principal offence basis.

Departmental Estate (Castle Point)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) land and (b) property is owned by his Department in Castle Point.

Charles Clarke: The Home Department does not own land or property in the borough of Castle Point, Essex.

Departmental Expenditure

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effects on re-offending rates on release of prisoners having maintained family ties during periods in custody.

Fiona Mactaggart: No analysis is currently possible on the direct association between the maintenance of family ties during custody and reconviction rates as statistical information is not routinely collected on the family ties of prisoners.
	However, the Government recognise the importance of family ties to prisoners and the Resettlement Survey 2003 indicated that over a third (37 per cent.) of prisoners who had at least one visit from family members or a partner reported having employment, training or education (ETE) arranged on release compared with 16 percent of those not receiving any visits. ETE is an important factor in successful resettlement and reducing reoffending.
	The findings from this survey (and equivalent surveys for 2001 and 2004) form the basis of a reconviction study which is currently being undertaken. This will include an analysis of any association between family or partner visits (and other factors) and subsequent proven reoffending. Our aim is to publish later in the year.

Departmental Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of pension contributions incurred by (a) his Department, (b) each (i) non-departmental public body, (ii) executive agency and (iii) other public body for which he is responsible in (A) Scotland, (B) Wales, (C) each of the English regions and (D) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06.

Charles Clarke: The table details the Home Office employer Accruing Superannuation Liability Charges (ASLC) for the financial years requested. These costs are for the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme. It is not possible to split these costs by country or region. The data has been broken down by Home Office Department, agency, non-departmental public body or other Home Office public body.
	Entries on the table marked by an asterisk show that no ASLC was appropriate for the relevant body in that year. This may be because the body did not yet exist or has ceased to exist. In some cases, machinery of Government changes have moved the body to another Government Department.
	The projected figures in the final column (for 2005–06) are extrapolated from the actual costs incurred in that financial year, up to the end of November 2005.
	
		Employer pension costs for Home Office Departments, agencies, non-departmental public bodies and other public bodies.
		
			 £ 
			 Department, NDPB or other Home Office public body Total ASLC 2002–03 Total ASLC 2003–04 Total ASLC 2004–05 ASLC 2005–06(19) Projected ASLC for 2005–06 
		
		
			 Assets Recovery Agency * 220,394.43 511,594.65 625268.98 937,903.47 
			 Broadcasting Standards Commission 65,027.16 106,906.57 * * * 
			 CENTREX 1,561,475.24 2,062,256.51 * * * 
			 Core Home Office, including Immigration and Nationality Directorate 49,757,888.51 58,474,892.64 65,016,661.80 61,977,643.31 92,966,464.97 
			 Criminal Cases Review Commission 315,289.25 215,275.19 * * * 
			 Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel 138,026.04 141,797.15 155,677.81 127,780.15 191,670.23 
			 Criminal Injuries Compensation Panel 428,181.14 416,774.55 395,031.77 374,479.95 561,719.93 
			 Criminal Records Bureau * 635,012.10 868,61026 784,905.32 1,177,357.98 
			 Electoral Commission 231,150.54 397,762.55 488,259.39 * * 
			 Fire Service College 582,647.75 636,163.68 720,121.85 684,903.94 1,027,355.91 
			 Forensic Science Service 8,753,230.92 9,327,242.97 9,151,78528 8,495,283.13 12,742,924.70 
			 Information Commissioner 386,519.00 478,483.54 546,491.41 573,084.82 859,627.23 
			 National Offender Management Service * * * 2,512,638.58 3,768,957.87 
			 Parole Board 121,622.75 178,181.81 202,837.97 206,406.09 309,609.14 
			 Police Complaints Authority 241,468.51 254,961.47 * * * 
			 Police Information Technology Organisation 1,792,689.11 2,193,834.90 2,643,128.60 2,561,360.12 3,842.040.18 
			 Prison Service 133,659,518.52 143,155,506.59 148,593,570.69 134,113,712.58 201,170,568.87 
			 United Kingdom Passport Service 5,521,555.43 5,011,449.54 5,553,783.32 5,975,619.36 8,963,429.04 
			 Youth Justice Board 437,504.42 537,860.51 666,486.06 704,691.28 1,057,036.92 
		
	
	(19) Up to November 2005.

Departmental Posts

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time is for identifying candidates for vacant posts in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Clarke: Information is not held centrally on average time taken to identify successful candidates for vacant posts in the Department and information varies across the Department. Within the public sector some recruitment responsibilities are devolved to the various business areas. The Home Department operates a number of different arrangements for filling vacancies each with unique features. Time scales for filling a vacancy can vary considerably depending on the approach taken, the post to be filled and local circumstances. It is not possible therefore to provide this information without incurring disproportionate costs.

Departmental Staff (Secondments)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff have been seconded to his Department for each year since 2000 from (i) British Telecom, (ii) the Dixons group, (iii) Camelot, (iv) the National Lottery, (v) the Football Association, (vi) Tracker and (vii) the RAC; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Clarke: Since 2000 no members of staff, either part-time or full-time have been seconded from the organisations in question.

Drugs Offences

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) fined the maximum amount and (b) imprisoned for the maximum period for possessing (i) cannabis, (ii) cocaine and (iii) heroin in each of the past four years; and what percentage of all people convicted of these offences these figures represent.

Paul Goggins: Information on the number of people fined and imprisoned for the maximum period of possessing cannabis, cocaine and heroin is shown in the tables as follows.
	
		Number of people given a maximum custodial sentence for possession offences
		
			  2001 percentage of all sentences 2002 percentage of all sentences 2003 percentage of all sentences 2004 percentage of all sentences 
		
		
			 Cannabis 25 4 38 6 49 6 51 6 
			 Cocaine 58 3 44 2 19 1 79 5 
			 Heroin 72 5 71 5 48 3 49 5 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Cannabis possession maximum period is five years.
	2. Cocaine and heroin possession maximum period is seven years.
	
		Number of people given a maximum fine for possession offences
		
			  2001 Percentage of all fines 2002 Percentage of all fines 2003 Percentage of all fines 2004 Percentage of all fines 
		
		
			 Cannabis 18 1 19 1 15 1 28 2 
			 Cocaine 4 0 3 0 8 0 4 0 
			 Heroin 17 0 14 0 29 0 17 0 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The maximum fine given in the magistrate court is £1,000.
	2. 0" indicates less than one per cent.

Dum-dum Bullets

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the use of dum-dum-style bullets by the police.

Hazel Blears: It is for Chief Officers to decide what ammunition and weapons are appropriate to use in order to meet their own operational requirements, subject to the general law that use offeree by the police must be reasonable in the circumstances. Hollow point ammunition (sometimes, misleadingly, called dum-dum bullets) is used by police in a number of countries.

Fireworks Misuse

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices have been issued for the misuse of fireworks, broken down by police force area.

Hazel Blears: Offences under the Fireworks Regulations 2004 (made under section 11 of the Fireworks Act 2003) for breach of the national fireworks curfew, the illegal possession of category 4 fireworks and the possession by a person under 18 of an adult firework attract penalty notices for disorder, as well as the offence of throwing fireworks. The offence of throwing fireworks has been included in the penalty notice for disorder scheme since it was introduced nationally during 2004. The offences under the Fireworks Regulations 2004 were brought into the scheme with effect from 11 October 2004. The number of penalty notices issued by police force area for 2004 and provisional data from January to September 2005 are provided in the following table.
	
		Number of penalty notices for disorder issued for fireworks offences, by police force area, England and Wales2004 and January-September 2005
		
			  2004 January-September 2005 (provisional) 
			 Police force Throwing fireworks Breach of fireworks curfew Possession of a category 4 firework Possession by under 18 of adult firework Throwing fireworks Breach of fireworks curfew Possession of a category 4 firework Possession by under 18 of adult firework 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset — — — — 1 1 — — 
			 Bedfordshire 2 — — — — — — — 
			 Cambridgeshire 1 — — — 2 — — — 
			 Cheshire 6 — — — 2 — — — 
			 Cleveland 4 — — — 1 — — — 
			 Cumbria 1 — — — — — — 1 
			 Derbyshire — — — — 3 1 — 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall 6 4 — — 2 — — — 
			 Dorset 5 — — — — — — — 
			 Durham — — — — — — — — 
			 Essex 6 — — — 6 1 1 2 
			 Gloucestershire 1 1 — — — 1 — — 
			 Greater Manchester 14 — — — 9 — 4 4 
			 Hampshire 8 — 1 1 4 1 — — 
			 Hertfordshire 2 — — — — — — — 
			 Humberside 5 1 1 — 2 — — — 
			 Kent 7 — 2 1 2 — — — 
			 Lancashire 11 1 1 — 14 2 — 1 
			 Leicestershire — — — — 2 1 — — 
			 Lincolnshire 20 2 — — 5 — — — 
			 London, City of 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Merseyside 56 — — 1 26 — 2 1 
			 Metropolitan 39 — — — 25 — 1 — 
			 Norfolk 1 — — — 1 — — — 
			 North Yorkshire 2 — — — 1 — — — 
			 Northamptonshire 5 — — — 2 — — — 
			 Northumbria 3 — — — — — — — 
			 Nottinghamshire 1 — — — — — — 2 
			 South Yorkshire 5 — — — 8 1 1 4 
			 Staffordshire 8 — — — 6 — — 1 
			 Suffolk 1 — — — 2 — — — 
			 Surrey 2 — — — — — — — 
			 Sussex 26 — — 1 9 — — — 
			 Thames Valley 23 — — — 3 — — — 
			 Warwickshire 1 — — — 3 — — — 
			 West Mercia 5 — 1 — — — — — 
			 West Midlands 17 — — — 7 1 1 — 
			 West Yorkshire 27 1 1 — 18 — 1 2 
			 Wiltshire 1 — — — 1 — — — 
			 Dyfed Powys 1 — — — 1 — — — 
			 Gwent 8 — — — 1 1 1 1 
			 North Wales 9 1 1 — 8 1 — — 
			 South Wales — — — — — — — — 
			  
			 England and Wales 332 10 7 4 177 12 12 20 
		
	
	Source:
	RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

Gun/Drug Crime

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has commissioned into the link between gun crime and drug crime.

Hazel Blears: The Home Office has commissioned a qualitative study among young men convicted of firearm offences with the aim of exploring criminal pathways into this type of crime as well as the associated motivations and barriers to carrying and using illegal firearms.
	The research explores the associations between gun related crimes and the procurement and use of drugs. The Home Office also sponsored the New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) survey, which involved interviewing and drug testing those arrested by the police, included questions on carrying guns.
	A paper based on the data has been published by T. H. Bennett and K. Holloway, Possession and use of illegal guns among criminals in England and Wales" (Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol 43, No 3, pp 237–252).

Sir Iqbal Sacranie

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the investigation by the police of recent statements by Sir Iqbal Sacranie relating to homosexuality.

Hazel Blears: The chief constable is responsible for the day to day operational management of the force. You may therefore wish to redirect your query to him.

IT Systems

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many probation areas are connected to the prison OASys IT system; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: Five probation areas are currently connected to the Prison Service OASys system. They are Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester.

Licensing Reforms (Offences)

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people (a) over 18 years and (b) under 18 years have been (i) arrested for, (ii) charged with and (iii) convicted of (A) public order offences and (B) public drunkenness since the introduction of 24 hour licensing in England and Wales.

Paul Goggins: The information requested on arrests and charges is not collected centrally. The information requested on convictions is not currently available. The Licensing Act 2003 came into force on 24 November 2005 and data for convictions in 2005 will not be available until autumn of 2006.

Methadone

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many registered methadone users there are in (a) Altcourse, (b) Bullingdon, (c) Elmley, (d) Holme House and (e) Hull prisons; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: Individual prisons do not hold any central register of individuals who are receiving treatment by particular categories such as methadone.

Ministerial Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent in each year from 1 May 1997 on ministerial travel arrangements, broken down by (a) provision and running costs of vehicular transport, (b) first class travel by rail, (c) standard class travel by rail, (d) first class travel by air, (e) club or equivalent class travel by air and (f) economy class travel by air.

Charles Clarke: The information requested is not held centrally and to provide would incur disproportionate costs. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Library.
	My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office (Mr. Murphy) has asked Roy Burke, chief executive of the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) to write to the hon. Member with details of the costs of ministerial vehicles provided to Departments in 2004–05. Copies of his letter will be placed in the Library. For information for the financial years 2000–01 to 2003–04 I refer the hon. Member to the letters from the chief executive of the GCDA to the hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow) dated 10 January 2005 and to the then hon. Member for Arundel & South Downs (Howard Flight) dated 13 September 2003. Copies of these letters are available in the Library. In respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing 500 or more during each financial year.
	The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. These report information for the financial years 1995–96 to 2004–05. Information for 2005–06 will be published as soon as it is ready after the end of the current financial year.

Mobile Phones

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many instances have been recorded of the police using mobile phone location data (a) to track a criminal and (b) to effect a rescue operation;
	(2)  how many instances have been recorded of the police using mobile phone location data (a) to track a criminal and (b) to effect a rescue operation.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not available centrally from the recorded crime statistics.

Mobile Phones

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Immobilise Phone Crime Initiative in reducing levels of mobile phone theft.

Hazel Blears: The Immobilise Phone Crime campaign was launched in March 2003, to publicise that stolen phones could now be blocked across all UK networks. This was a key step in tackling mobile phone theft, as it removed the incentive to steal a mobile phone because it could now be rendered useless.
	We do not hold figures for mobile phone theft centrally, but Home Office research (HORS 235) shows that a mobile phone is involved in about half of all robberies. A number of interventions occurred at a similar time to the Immobilise campaign, most notably, the Street Crime Initiative. Figures show that robbery fell by 32 per cent. between 2001–02 and 2004–05 in the areas in which the Initiative was implemented, despite increases in mobile phone ownership. The targeted nature of the Immobilise campaign, and the link between mobile phones and robbery would indicate that the campaign may have contributed to this reduction.

Mobile Phones

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish statistics from the National Mobile Phone Crime Unit on tackling mobile handset theft and related street crime.

Hazel Blears: Figures for mobile phone theft are not held centrally as it is not a distinct offence category. However, based on Home Office research (HORS 235) we know that a mobile phone is involved in about half of all robberies. The National Mobile Phone Crime Unit (NMPCU) is a dedicated law enforcement unit set up to focus specifically on this serious crime and operates primarily in an intelligence gathering capacity. A key driver for mobile phone theft has been the ability to re-programme the IMEI number (unique serial number) of a phone, thus turning a useless object into a valuable and re-sellable commodity.
	The NMPCU has been proactively targeting individuals engaged in this activity. Since January 2004 there have been 400 individual operations and 34 successful cautions and convictions. This has resulted in a number of custodial sentences and fines under the Mobile Telephones (Re-programming) Act 2002 and related legislation.

Mobile Phones

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prosecuted for using a mobile phone while driving a vehicle in (a) the UK and (b) Greater Manchester.

Paul Goggins: Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform show that the number of people proceeded against at the magistrates courts for the use of a hand held mobile phone while driving, under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 Reg.110(1) was 54 in Greater Manchester and 475 in England and Wales, 2004. Information for Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Office and that for Northern Ireland for the Northern Ireland Office.

Naturalisation Helpline

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average waiting time was for calls to the 0845 0105200 helpline for inquiries on naturalisation to be answered in the last period for which figures are available; and how many unanswered calls there were in that period.

Tony McNulty: The average waiting time for November 2005 was four minutes 25 seconds. The volume of unanswered calls in November 2005 was 109,560 from a total of 141,552 calls offered. A review of staffing levels at the Nationality helpdesk has been conducted to assess what the required level of staffing needed is to meet the demand for the service. It is intended to increase the number of call handlers progressively in the period up to summer 2006 to twice the current level.

Neighbours from Hell Website

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many e-mail messages (a) from people living in Gravesend and (b) in total have been received by his Department since the Prime Minister urged readers of The Sun to shop yobs to the Home Office via the neighboursfromhell@thesun.co.uk e-mail address.

Hazel Blears: Encouraging members of the public to report antisocial behaviour is an important part of the Government's overall strategy to tackle and not tolerate the problem.
	At the time of answering, The Sun had forwarded to the Home Office 91 responses to their campaign: none of these have come from people identifying themselves as having come from Gravesend.

Parenting Orders

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parenting orders have been made in (a) Derbyshire and (b) Amber Valley.

Fiona Mactaggart: Since April 2000, the Youth Justice Board has collected the number of parenting orders relating to offending or antisocial behaviour and this is collected by youth offending team areas. 47 of these parenting orders were made in the Derbyshire youth offending team area between 1 April 2000 and September 2005 (the latest data which is currently available).
	Since September 2004, the Department for Education and Skills has collected data regarding parenting orders in cases of non-attendance and exclusions from school and this collected by local authority area. Six of these parenting orders were made in the Derbyshire local authority area between September 2004 and 31 July 2005 (the latest data which is currently available). Neither of these sets of data is collected at the sub-Derbyshire level and information cannot therefore be provided for Amber Valley.

Passports

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 9 January 2006, Official Report, column 378W, on passports, if the Department will also allow the hand of a parent who is holding a baby to appear in a photograph without invalidating it.

Andy Burnham: If a baby is being supported by a parent when photographed, the hands of the parent must not be visible above the shoulders of the baby. This is to ensure that the passport issuing system does not capture the supporting hand as part of the subject's face. It is recommended that the services of a photographic studio are used when obtaining passport photographs for very young infants.

Passports

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 9 January 2006, Official Report, column 378W, on passports, whether the notice added to the UK Passport Service website on photograph standards was published on 22 November 2005 as referred to in the answer or on 21 December as referred to on the UKPS website.

Andy Burnham: The UKPS website was updated on 22 November to reflect the revised policy adopted after consideration of feedback following the introduction of new photo standards in September 2005. Changes are made to the website as the need arises, and on 21 December a further change was made to advise customers that the digital enhancement of photographs was not recommended. The date on the web page reflects this latter change. The website has been amended to make the timing of these changes clearer.

Passports

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of forged passports in use in the UK in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: Although by the very nature of the problem it is impossible to quantify the number of forged passports circulating within the UK, it is a concern I take very seriously. Our response is led by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's National Document Fraud Unit (NDFU), which is recognised at home and abroad as the leader in its field.
	NDFU conducts full forgery detection training for Immigration Nationality Directorate (IND) staff. As a result, in 2004 a total of 8,285 fraudulent documents were detected at UK ports of entry, an increase of 4 per cent. over 2003. Croydon NDFU detected 1,044 fraudulent documents, an increase of 25 per cent.
	Our experience in IND, confirmed by agencies such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), shows that abuse of identity documents is increasing, assisted by the spread of computer technology. To combat such abuse NDFU provides forgery detection training to other organisations including the police, Customs and Excise, DWP etc, as well as to the private sector, aiding detection of falsified documents within the UK, and hindering the adoption of false identities.

Police

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidential base there is for the figures of 4,000 officers and 6,000 staff as the minimum size of a police force.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 21 November 2005
	The analysis in HMIC's report suggested that there was an optimum size of force, below which it would be hard in the longer term to sustain the required investment in protective service .
	There is a clear and statistically significant pattern suggesting that size is a major factor in determining whether a force can attain the requisite performance on the protective services but also insulate against underperformance in other areas HMIC's conclusion was that forces with more than 4,000 officers and 6,000 staff gave the citizen the greatest chance of receiving comprehensive policing services at all levels.
	A copy of the paper has been placed on to the police reform website http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/police-reform/Force-restructuring?view=Standard and in the Library. I wrote to all Members of Parliament on 16 December 2005 updating them on the police force structures review, and including a copy of the 4,000 officer strength threshold for police forces.

Police

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average response time to an emergency call to the police in Staffordshire was in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: Data on time taken to respond to emergency calls is not collected centrally. This is essentially an operational matter for the chief constable and this query could therefore be directed to Staffordshire police.

Police

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines apply to a police officer with a family interest in a legal case continuing to serve in the local geographical area in which the alleged offence took place.

Hazel Blears: There are no national or statutory guidelines governing the placement of police officers. The deployment of resources within the Essex Police area is an operational matter for which the chief constable has sole responsibility.

Police

Kitty Ussher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the determining factors are in deciding whether to call a public inquiry following a death in police custody.

Hazel Blears: In some cases, an inquiry can be required by law. In other cases the Secretary of State has a discretion and where there are issues likely to affect the whole of a police force then an inquiry may be an appropriate way of dealing with it. Where, in a specific case, it appears that there has been sufficient investigation of the incident then it is likely that the view will be taken that a further inquiry is unlikely to provide further evidence or to be proportionate.

Police

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the police force restructuring proposals on the crime detection rate (a) during the restructuring and (b) immediately afterwards for each constabulary in England and Wales.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 5 December 2005
	The Government's Spending Review 2004 public service agreements set a target to improve the delivery of justice by increasing the number of crimes for which an offender is brought to justice to 1.25 million by 2007–08. Within this target, we are committed to bringing about an increase in the sanction detections rate to 25 per cent. over the same period. We remain committed to delivering that improvement and any objectives beyond this period will arise out of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007.

Police

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the chief constable of Kent about police restructuring since the publication of Closing the Gap by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary.

Hazel Blears: The Home Secretary received a business case on police restructuring from the chief constable of Kent, Mr. Fuller, and the chair of the Kent Police Authority, Mrs. Barnes on 23 December 2005.
	The Home Secretary has not had any discussions about the restructuring process with the chief constable of Kent. However Mr. Giffard, chief constable of Staffordshire and programme director of the restructuring process, met with the chief constable of Kent and the chair of the Kent Police Authority in London on 15 November. They have also spoken by telephone and in person on a number of occasions. In addition to this there has been regular contact between the Kent project team working on restructuring and the Home Office Review Unit supporting the process.

Police

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the salary is of the Police National Bureaucracy Adviser; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The salary of the National Bureaucracy Adviser is £81,555 which is the first increment for an Assistant Chief Constable from Essex police.

Police

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department where the office of the Police National Bureacracy Adviser is; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The National Bureaucracy Adviser is based notionally at the Home Office at 2 Marsham Street. However, she spends most of her time visiting forces to spread good practice; challenge, where necessary, existing practices; and drive force-led reductions in bureaucracy.

Police

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of serving police officers in Northamptonshire are grade one qualified emergency response drivers.

Hazel Blears: Information on the number of officers who are grade one qualified emergency response drivers is not collected centrally

Police

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has been spent on policing per head of population in (a) Essex and (b) the Metropolitan police area of London, broken down by police division, in each year since 1995.

Hazel Blears: Information on force expenditure at Basic Command Unit (BCU) level is not held centrally. Total force gross revenue expenditure per head of population is set out in the table. Essex receives its fair share of available resources. This year it is receiving £167.0 million in general grants, an increase of 3.75 per cent. (£6.1 million) over last year. If the funding formula had been strictly applied, Essex would have received £13.6 million less. The local distribution of resources is a matter for the Chief Constable and the Police Authority to determine in the light of operational priorities.
	
		Force gross revenue expenditure per head of population
		
			  Essex police Metropolitan police 
		
		
			 1995–96(20) 102.64 240.56 
			 1996–97 105.46 243.31 
			 1997–98 109.49 239.88 
			 1998–99 116.27 243.41 
			 1999–2000 118.97 257.83 
			 2000–01(21) 122.52 290.35 
			 2001–02 128.04 305.65 
			 2002–03 133.25 315.78 
			 2003–04 141.41 364.14 
			 2004–05 155.84 381.21 
		
	
	(20) Actual expenditure figures for 1995–96 were not available for Essex from CIPFA. CIPFA 1995–96 estimates have therefore been used.
	(21) As of April 2000, the Metropolitan police force was reduced in size by a transfer of responsibility for policing some areas to the surrounding forces, including Essex. These changes need to be borne in mind when comparing figures before and after April 2000.
	Source of expenditure information:
	CIPFA—Police Statistics (Actuals 1995–96 to 2003–04, Estimates 2004–05).
	Source for resident population figures:
	Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as used in the calculation of the police funding settlements.

Press Officers

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many press officers are employed by each of the executive agencies of his Department.

Charles Clarke: The Home Office has two executive agencies—the Criminal Records Bureau and the UK Passport Service. Neither of these agencies directly employ press officers. All media inquiries to and about the work of these two agencies are dealt with by the central Home office press Office in London. The UK Passport Service funds the salary of one press officer (information officer) in the Home Office press office.

Press Officers

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many new press officers his Department is planning to employ over the next 12 months; and at what estimated cost.

Charles Clarke: There will be no planned growth in press officers over the next 12 months. We will only fill vacancies which we cannot predict in advance.

Prisons

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners who have been sentenced to life in prison are on an early release programme.

Fiona Mactaggart: On 30 November 2005, there were 1,504 life licensees prisoners in the community under active supervision by probation officers. All life licensees are liable to recall to prison for the rest of their lives if their potential risk of harm to the public warrants such action.
	There are no early release programmes as such for lifers. Lifers progress through sentence under the framework of a life sentence plan (LSP). This provides the prisoner with a structured means to help him or her reduce their risk.
	The bulk of this work is conducted in the secure or closed" prison estate. Most lifers can normally be expected to progress to open conditions in preparation for possible release, but only where the Secretary of State considers such a move appropriate on risk grounds. Consideration of release cannot take place until the prisoner has served the minimum period of imprisonment deemed necessary for the purposes of retribution and deterrence (the tariff"). The responsibility for the release of lifers now lies with the independent Parole Board. If the lifer is not released at the tariff expiry point, the Parole Board will consider the case again at no more than two yearly intervals thereafter. The main criterion governing the Parole Board's consideration is the level of risk of serious harm that the lifer may pose to others.

Prisons

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on rights of prison inmates in relation to a place of worship.

Fiona Mactaggart: Prisoners have the right to practise their religion, and the opportunity to attend the main religious observance of the week for the faith in which they are registered. The Prison Service is committed to providing the necessary facilities, including suitable places of worship. Chaplaincy HQ together with the Chaplaincy Council and Area Chaplains continue to work with prison establishments to ensure suitable provision for all faith traditions.

Prisons

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many adult prisoners were (a) disciplined and (b) prosecuted for drugs offences while in custody in the last five years for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: The number of adult prisoners found guilty of drug offences while in custody is given in the table. Any decision to prosecute a prisoner for drug offences in custody would be taken by the Crown Prosecution Service and the Prison Service does not collate details of prosecutions undertaken.
	
		
			  Number of prisoners found guilty at adjudication of attempting to smuggle drugs through visits(22) Prisoners guilty of supplying drugs Prisoners punished for unauthorised use of a controlled drug Prisoners punished for possession of a controlled drug 
		
		
			 2004–05 1,065 20 8,467 1,145 
			 2003–04 884 21 8,021 1,036 
			 2002–03 988 13 7,056 797 
			 2001–02 1,123 35 9,441 1,336 
			 2000–01 1,169 26 11,060 1,531 
		
	
	(22) These figures are for all prisoners including juveniles and young offenders

Prisons

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cells in prisons housing adult prisoners in England and Wales were designed to accommodate (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four prisoners; and how many in each category have been accommodating more prisoners than they were designed to house in the last five years for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: The total number of prison cells and other accommodation, or levels of cell occupancy, is not recorded centrally. The standard unit of prison accommodation is the prison place, which may be located in cells, cubicles, dormitories, rooms or wards. The wide range in age and type of prison accommodation means there is no standard design of prison cell. Cell capacity is determined by senior operational managers on the basis of their operational judgment and experience.

Prisons

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) adult males and (b) females were in prison and (i) males and (ii) females were in young offender institutions in England and Wales in the latest period for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested, as recorded on the Prison Service IT system, is provided in the table.
	
		Prison population in England and Wales by age and sex, 30 November 2005
		
			  Male Female Total 
		
		
			 Adults 62,156 4,019 66,175 
			 Young adults(23) and 15 to 17-year-olds 10,586 545 11,131 
		
	
	(23) Young adults are prisoners aged 18 to 20 but include 21-year-old prisoners who were aged 20 or under at conviction who have not been reclassified as part of the adult population.

Prisons

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has plans to introduce a long service medal for prison officers.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Prison Service currently has a Director General's Long Service Award, which is awarded to staff in recognition of 25-years service. The Service continues to explore with government colleagues a separate recognition opportunity or medal to reward such very high levels of achievement and long service.

Prisons

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the projects to build new prisons which have been funded by private finance initiatives; how many have been completed; and what stage each of the remaining projects has reached.

Fiona Mactaggart: Nine new prisons have been opened under the Private Finance Initiative as listed in the table. There are no plans at present to build any new prisons.
	
		
			  
		
		
			 1997 HMP/YOI Parc 
			 1997 HMP Altcourse 
			 1998 HMP Lowdham Grange 
			 1999 HMYOI Ashfield 
			 2000 HMP Forest Bank 
			 2001 HMP Rye Hill 
			 2001 HMP Dovegate 
			 2004 HMP Bronzefield 
			 2005 HMP Peterborough

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of inmates (a) had access to and (b) enrolled in formal education and training schemes in each prison in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: All offenders in custody are encouraged to access learning and skills provision. Figures on the numbers enrolled in formal education and training schemes are not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The data will however become increasingly available through Learning and Skills Council management information arrangements as they take responsibility for planning and funding offender learning and skills during 2006.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what opportunities exist for prisoners to develop (a) interpersonal, (b) social, (c) life, (d) self-management and (e) coping skills within the Prison Estate; what assessment he has made of the diversity of provision of such education; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Prison Service offers a broad spectrum of opportunities to develop the skills and meet the needs of prisoners including formal education, specialist programmes, work, training and resettlement courses as well as input from other staff, probation, the voluntary sector, other outside organisations and prisoners themselves.
	The opportunities available in a particular area or establishment will vary but are subject to regular review. The roll-out of a common offender assessment system across the National Offender Management Service, and improved offender management arrangements that are being introduced will enable the needs of prisoners to be better met.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to reduce thesupply of (a) mobile phones, (b) drugs and (c) alcohol into the Prison Estate; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: A comprehensive range of measures is in place to reduce the amount of drugs and associated paraphernalia, including mobile phones, getting into prisons.
	It includes:
	passive and active drug dogs;
	closed circuit television systems and fixed and low-level furniture;
	closed visits and visit bans on visitors suspected of smuggling drugs;
	sharing of intelligence with police about drug routes into prisons;
	the use of the Supply Reduction Good Practice Guide;
	mandatory drug testing;
	searching strategies; and
	deployment of mobile phone detectors and analysis of recovered handsets.
	The good general prison security measures already in place serve to reduce the supply of alcohol. In April 2005 introduced a provision in the prison rules to test prisoners for alcohol.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to develop an over-arching strategy for prison education; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills set out our strategy to improve the skills and job prospects for offenders in the Green Paper Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment" published on 15 December and copied to all Members of Parliament. The document was published jointly on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills, the Home Office and the Department for Work and Pensions. We have now embarked on an extensive period of consultation, running until the end of May, during which we welcome a full range of views.

Prisons

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to bring the number of prisoners held at Leeds prison down to its certified level; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: Prison capacity is determined by senior operational managers on the basis of operational judgement and experience. The population at HMP Leeds is currently within its useable operational capacity, which is the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime. We have looked very closely at the population level at the prison and have reduced the operational capacity by 104. This will enable HMP Leeds to focus on the many challenges facing it as a local prison.

Proceeds of Crime Act

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money was recovered in West Lancashire as a consequence of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each year since 2002.

Paul Goggins: Information is not available in the form requested. The total value of confiscation orders obtained by Lancashire constabulary under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and earlier legislation is as follows: 2002/03—£384,750 2003/04—£88,973, 2004/05—£3,475,486.
	The total value of cash forfeiture orders obtained by Lancashire constabulary under the 2002 Act is as follows: 2002–03—£81,155, 2003–04—£31,980, 2004–05—£184,486. In addition the total value of confiscation orders obtained by the North West Regional Asset Recovery Team, which covers Lancashire, in 2004–05 was £251,493. Information on the value of orders obtained by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in Lancashire is not available.

Public Order Act

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance has been issued by his Department on investigations and prosecutions under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986.

Hazel Blears: Guidance on Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 was issued to police forces and the courts in February 1987 in Home Office Circular 11/1987.

Recorded Offences (Humberside)

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded offences of (a) burglary, (b) thefts and (c) thefts from cars there have been in each division of Humberside Police in each year since 2002.

Hazel Blears: The available information relates to offences recorded in basic command units in the Humberside police force area and is given in the table.
	
		Recorded offences in Humberside 2002–03 to 2004–05
		
			   Number of offences 
			 Basic Command Unit Offence 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 East Riding of Yorkshire Domestic burglary 1,569 1,405 1,203 
			  Thefts 9,423 9,200 7,695 
			  Of which:
			  Thefts from cars 2,574 2,702 2,061 
			  
			 Kingston upon Hull Domestic burglary 5,794 5,049 3,267 
			  Thefts 24,691 21,759 17,658 
			  Of which:
			  Thefts from cars 7,085 5,413 4,459 
			  
			 North East Lincolnshire Domestic burglary 2,358 2,151 1,966 
			  Thefts 11,378 12,627 11,467 
			  Of which:
			  Thefts from cars 3,097 3,239 2,987 
			  
			 North Lincolnshire Domestic burglary 2,492 1,805 1,359 
			  Thefts 7,950 8,482 6,540 
			  Of which:
			  Thefts from cars 2,119 2,456 1,680

Recorded Offences (Humberside)

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences involving air weapons there were in each division of Humberside police in each of the last five years.

Hazel Blears: The requested data are not collected centrally.

Reoffending

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people previously in custody have reoffended in (a) Wimbledon and (b) the London borough of Merton in each year since 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The most recent reoffending data for adults were published in Re-offending of adults: results from the 2002 cohort" which is available through the Home Office's website (http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm).
	The report shows the proportion of offenders who reoffended within two years and were subsequently convicted, and separately identifies offenders given custodial and community sentences. The conviction for the offence is counted even if it occurred beyond the two year follow-up period. Results are given for 2000 and 2002.
	Reconviction data for 1997 through 2000 were published in Prison statistics England and Wales 2002" and data for 2001 were published in Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2003". Both of these publications are available on the Home Office website. These series count only those convictions that were secured within the two year follow-up period.
	Reconviction rates should be used with caution as a number of different factors can influence them. Reconviction rates can be adjusted to take account of the changing characteristics of offenders and these adjusted rates are published on the Home Office's website. The most recent data show that there has been a reduction in reoffending for all offenders of 0.2 per cent. against the 2000 baseline. The Home Office public service agreement target is to reduce re-offending by 5 per cent. by 2006.

Taxis

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Department has spent on taxis in each of the last five years.

Charles Clarke: The information requested is contained in the table. Travel by taxi is allowed only in the following circumstances: for journeys for which there is no other suitable method of public transport, where heavy luggage has to be transported to or from the place of departure or arrival, or where the saving of official time is important.
	The recorded cost of using taxis over the last two years are given in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2000–01 133,479 
			 2001–02 306,917 
			 2002–03 362,905 
			 2003–04 I 435,416 
			 2004–05 665,764 
			 Total 1,904,481

Terrorism (UK Airports)

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding will be made available to the Bedfordshire police authority for 2006–07 for the provision of counter-terrorism initiatives at London Luton airport; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The provision of police resources at an airport in the United Kingdom is an operational decision for the chief officer for each individual force. Police forces in England and Wales with responsibility for policing airports which do not hold designated status are entitled to apply for extraordinary funding to provide an appropriate policing presence in line with the current terrorist threat. Bedfordshire, in line with a number of other forces, has applied for such funding.
	The level of funding awarded is determined by the Association of Chief Police Officers acting in full consultation with individual forces and the Home Office. For reasons of security we do not comment on the level of funding or which airports are in receipt of such funding.

Terrorism (UK Airports)

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations his Department plans to make to the independent review of policing at airports; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The independent review of policing at airports is being led by Stephen Boys Smith, as announced by the Secretary of State for Transport on nine January. He has requested representations from a number of interested parties including the Home Office. These representations will be made in confidence to the review. The review's findings and recommendations are expected to be completed in late spring.

Terrorism (UK Airports)

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what level of funding was made available to each civil airport within the UK for the provision of counter terrorism initiatives in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Provision of general security at airports within the United Kingdom is the responsibility of the operating authority for the individual airport concerned. Operational decisions about the nature and deployment of police officers on counter-terrorism duties at airports are made by chief officers of individual forces.
	Since 2002–03 those police forces in England and Wales with responsibility for policing an airport which does not hold designated status under the Aviation Security Act 1982 are entitled to apply for extraordinary general funding to provide an appropriate police presence in response to the current terrorist threat. The level of funding awarded to each force is determined by the Association of Chief Police Officers in full consultation with the Home Office and the individual force. For security reasons we do not make public the level of funding provided to an individual force for this purpose.

Travellers

Martin Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will encourage (a) local authorities and (b) local crime and disorder reduction partnerships to use antisocial behaviour orders against those Travellers who persistently cause harassment and distress to local residents in their areas.

Hazel Blears: Both local authorities and the police have broad powers to deal with antisocial behaviour which apply to Travellers and the settled community alike; they should use these effectively while also working to tackle the causes of antisocial behaviour. Antisocial behaviour orders are one of a number of measures available, which can be used to tackle antisocial behaviour in any community.

Young Offenders

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders have been placed under intensive supervision in (a) Crosby and (b) Merseyside in each of the last five years.

Fiona Mactaggart: There are three Intensive Supervision and Surveillance schemes in Merseyside. Crosby comes under the scheme for Knowsley, St. Helens and Sefton. Data is only available from April 2003 onwards as shown in the following table.
	
		
			 ISSP scheme 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 (to September 2005) Total 
		
		
			 Knowsley, St. Helens  and Sefton 72 56 31 159 
			 Liverpool 117 108 57 282 
			 Wirral 56 63 29 148 
			 Total (Merseyside) 245 227 117 589

WALES

Consultants/Special Advisers

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 23 November 2005 to the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning), Official Report, columns 2067–2068W, on consultants/special advisers, what the (a) names are and (b) periods of service were of the Department's special advisers;
	(2)  what the (a) names are and (b) periods of service were of the Department's special advisers.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office was established in July 1999. The names and period of service of special advisers were:
	Hywel Francis was appointed in October 1999 until May 2000.
	Adrian McMenamin appointed December 1999, and resigned during June 2001 general election, he was then re-appointed in June 2001 until July 2002.
	Andrew Bold was appointed in June 2000 and resigned during June 2001 general election. He was re-appointed in June 2001 and resigned again in March 2005, in accordance with Government guidance. He was re-appointed after the general election in May 2005.
	Owen Smith was appointed in August 2002 until October 2002. He accompanied Paul Murphy to the Northern Ireland Office.
	Phil Taylor was appointed in October 2002 until June 2003.
	Matthew Burchell was appointed in May 2005.

Departmental Expenditure

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the expenditure on (a) buildings and (b) insurance of buildings and staff was of his Department in (i) Wales and (ii) each English region in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06 in each case.

Peter Hain: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) The Wales Office expenditure on the buildings for the last three years was:
	
		£
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 London:
			 Rent 0 10,383 15,761 
			 Rates 46,759 48,222 39,643 
			 Maintenance 199,036 67,785 97,388 
			 
			 Wales:
			 Rent 0 120,334 146,544 
			 Rates 0 28,452 30,270 
		
	
	All maintenance cost for Wales are included with the rent charges.
	Planned expenditure for financial year 2005–06 are:
	
		
			  Amount (£) 
		
		
			 London:  
			 Rent 33,879 
			 Rates 48,108 
			 Maintenance 68,419 
			   
			 Wales:  
			 Rent 146,273 
			 Rates 6,133 
		
	
	(b) In line with the Central Government, the Wales office does not insure its buildings. Central Government has chosen not to take out commercial insurance under conventional procurement techniques, as the premiums payable have not been seen to represent good value for money compared to self-insurance. Full details can be obtained from the Treasury website: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

Departmental Functions

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which functions of his core Department are carried out in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Wales; and what administration costs were associated with these functions for each area in the last year.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office carries out no core functions in Northern Ireland.
	The Wales Office has a policy and legislative team in Cardiff. Administration costs for these functions can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Jobs

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what percentage of jobs in his Department are located in (a) England, excluding Greater London, (b) Greater London, (c) Wales and (d) overseas.

Peter Hain: Wales Office posts are split between London and Cardiff offices as follows:
	
		Wales Office posts
		
			  Number Percentage 
		
		
			 London-based posts 46.6 74.0 
			 Cardiff-based posts 16.4 26.0 
		
	
	There are no Wales Office posts elsewhere in England or overseas.

Departmental Staff

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many civil servants in his Department worked from home for at least one day a week in the last year for which figures are available.

Peter Hain: There is one civil servant within the Wales Office staff that has regularly worked from home on two days of the week over the last year.

Departmental Staff

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many civil servants were employed in the Wales Office and its predecessors in each year since 1997, broken down by grade and office location; and what the equivalent information is to date in 2005–06.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office was established in 1999, following devolution and the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales.
	The number and grade of Wales Office staff is published annually in our departmental report.
	Approximately 75 per cent. of Wales Office staff are based in London, with the remainder being located in Cardiff.

Departmental Staff

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many disciplinary actions against civil servants employed in his Department (a) were commenced and (b) resulted in a sanction being applied in each of the last five years.

Peter Hain: None.

Parliamentary Question

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will update his reply to the former hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent on 20 May 2003, Official Report, columns 718–19W, on the availability of digital broadcasting for viewers in Blaenau Gwent.

Peter Hain: The Government are committed to ensuring that at digital switchover everyone in the UK who can currently receive the main public service broadcasting channels in analogue form will be able to receive them in digital form without needing to pay a subscription.
	Switchover for the HTV Wales region will happen in the second half of 2009.

Wales Office

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when the report on the performance of the Wales Office in meeting its targets for 2005 will be prepared; and when the report will be published.

Peter Hain: In accordance with Treasury guidance and target dates, the Departmental Annual Report will be prepared during February and March, due for publication the end April.

TREASURY

Cancer

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the survival rates for (a) lung, (b) breast, (c) testicular, (d) prostate, (e) ovarian, (f) bowel and (g) other cancers in the most recent period for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked her to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 January 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the survival rates for (a) lung, (b) breast, (c) testicular, (d) prostate, (e) ovarian, (f) bowel and (g) other cancers have been in the most recent period for which figures are available. (45201)
	Cancer survival rates are only produced for specific cancers and are calculated by combining several years of diagnosis. For this reason no single figure is available for the category 'other cancers'.
	Survival rates for 21 common cancers among adult patients in England diagnosed during 1998–2001 and followed up to the end of 2003 (covering about 90 per cent. of all cancer cases in these patients) were published on the National Statistics website on 9 May 2005, and are available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D8982.xls
	One- and five-year survival rates relating to the cancers listed in (a)—(f) are given in the attached table.
	
		One and five year age-standardised(24) relative survival (percentage) for adult patients(25) diagnosed during 1998–2001 (England), major cancers by sex
		
			 Percentage 
			  Patients diagnosed during 1998–2001, England 
			  Cancer(26) One year relative survival Five year relative survival 
		
		
			 Lung   
			 Men 24.5 6.3 
			 Women 26.3 7.5 
			
			 Breast   
			 Women 93.7 79.9 
			
			 Testis   
			 Men 98.0 96.6 
			
			 Prostate   
			 Men 89.8 70.8 
			
			 Ovary   
			 Women 66.9 38.3 
			
			 Colon   
			 Men 68.3 49.4 
			 Women 68.2 50.2 
			  
			 Rectum   
			 Men 74.7 50.0 
			 Women 76.6 53.6 
		
	
	(24) As cancer survival varies with age at diagnosis, the relative rates for all ages (15 to 99) have been age-standardised to control for changes in the age profile of cancer patients over time, thus making them comparable with previously published figures.
	(25) Aged 15 to 99 years.
	(26) Cancers registered in 1998–2001 are defined by codes in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD10). Therefore, lung cancer is defined by codes C33-C34, breast cancer by code C50, testicular cancer by code C62, prostate cancer by code C61, ovarian cancer by codes C56-C57.7, colon cancer by code CIS and rectal cancer by codes C19-C21.
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

Employment Statistics

John Cummings: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) private sector (i) manufacturing and (ii) service sector and (b) public sector jobs there were in Easington constituency in each year since 2000.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 January 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about private and public sector employment in Easington constituency. (45018)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics for the United Kingdom of public sector employment from a quarterly survey of public sector organisations. However, estimates at local area level are not available.
	Information at local area level is available from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) of individual people in households. However, in this source, the categorisation of employment in the public or private sector depends upon the responses from the individuals interviewed. As reported by QMS in October 2005 in the publication Public Sector Employment Trends", some individuals tend to misreport private sector employment as being in the public sector hence leading to overestimates of the share of public sector employment.
	With this reservation about the data quality, the attached table shows the number of persons in private sector employment, by the specified splits, and for the public sector, for people resident in the Easington constituency as shown by the annual local area LFS for the 12 month periods ending February 2001 to February 2004.
	These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.
	
		Persons in employment resident in the Easington constituency by private-public sector split(27)
		
			 Thousands 
			  Private Sector 
			 12 months ending Manufacturing Services Other industries(28) Public Sector Total 
		
		
			 February 2001 10 15 2 6 33 
			 February 2002 7 14 2 9 32 
			 February 2003 8 14 2 8 33 
			 February 2004 8 13 2 6 29 
		
	
	(27) Public/private sector split based on responses from individuals responding to the annual local area labour force survey—generally overestimate public sector employment.
	(28) Other industries are agriculture, fishing, energy and water and construction.
	Note:
	Estimates are subject to sampling variability. Changes from year to year should be treated with particular caution.
	Source:
	Annual local area labour force survey.

London Congestion Charge

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the change in receipts from (a) VAT, (b) corporation tax and (c) national insurance contributions from businesses within the existing London Congestion Charge area since its introduction.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on VAT, corporation tax and national insurance contributions from businesses within the London Congestion Charge area is not available.

Pensions

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2005, Official Report, column 775W, on pensions, how allowance was made for future improvement in life expectancy in calculating the estimates of the accrued liability for unfunded public sector pensions.

Des Browne: Significant allowance was made for future improvement in mortality, drawing on national population projections and mortality studies undertaken by the actuarial profession. The key actuarial assumptions used to value the liabilities of individual schemes are set out in relevant reports by the scheme actuary and they have, for example, been reported in their respective financial statements such as resource accounts.

Post Office Card Accounts

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people use the Post Office card account for receipt of child benefit (a) in total and (b) broken down by region.

Dawn Primarolo: 622 thousand child benefit recipients were being paid via post office card accounts at December 2005. The breakdown by region is shown as follows.
	
		Number of child benefit customers paid by post office card account: December 2005
		
			 Thousand 
			 Government office region Number of customers 
		
		
			 United Kingdom(29) 622 
			   
			 England 480 
			 North East 37 
			 Northwest 86 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 61 
			 East Midlands 41 
			 West Midlands 58 
			 East of England 38 
			 London 66 
			 South East 49 
			 South West 44 
			   
			 Wales 44 
			   
			 Scotland 54 
			   
			 Northern Ireland 40 
			   
			 Abroad and not known 4 
		
	
	(29) Including Abroad and not known

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  when staff at the tax credit office first raised the issue of internet fraud with (a) managers, (b) the head of the Inland Revenue and (c) Ministers; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  on what date he was first made aware of the use of the tax credit internet portal for organised fraud.

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when his Department first became aware that an organised fraud of the tax credit system was being perpetuated via one HM Revenue and Customs website; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 23 January 2006
	I refer to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Yeovil on 10 January 2006, Official Report, columns 550–51W.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2006, Official Report, columns 550–51W, on tax credit, whether the Paymaster General was presented with the option of closing down the online tax credit portal in June 2005; and what the average award of tax credits was to families with (a) one child, (b) two children and (c) three children in the last year for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: In June 2005 HMRC were satisfied they could continue to manage the balance between providing the internet service for genuine claimants against the risk posed from fraud. HMRC continued to closely monitor this and the decision to close the e-portal was taken in December 2005 after the threat had deemed to have changed.
	The average award of tax credits to families for the year 2003–04 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 One child 2,122 
			 Two children 2,460 
			 Three children 3,833

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what dates (a) he and (b) senior HM Revenue and Customs officials have met the (i) police, (ii) National Criminal Intelligence Service and (iii) National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre to discuss tax credit fraud.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the written statements I and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department issued on 23 January 2006.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the value of tax credit fraud in the financial year to date.

Dawn Primarolo: HMRC are currently undertaking a programme of work on finalised 2003–04 awards—the first year of working tax credit and child tax credit—to provide more information on the level of claimant error and fraud. This is due to be completed in spring 2006.

Trade Deficit

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the UK's trade deficit.

John Healey: The most relevant measure of the UK trade in goods and services balance for comparative purposes is not the absolute figure, but the trade balance as a percentage of GDP. As quarterly figures can be volatile, it is more informative to look at annual figures. In 2004, the UK trade balance was in deficit at 3.3 per cent. of GDP, compared to 4.1 per cent. of GDP in 1989. The current account deficit was 2.0 per cent. of GDP over the same period, less than half the peak of 5.1 per cent. of GDP in 1989, and is readily financeable.

Winter Deaths

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many excess winter deaths of people aged over 65 years there have been in (a) West Lancashire, (b) Lancashire and (c) England in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 January 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many excess winter deaths of people aged over 65 years there have been in (a) West Lancashire, (b) Lancashire and (c) England in each year since 1997. (45151)
	Figures available since 1997 on excess winter deaths (the excess number of deaths each winter compared to the average during other months of the year) for West Lancashire local authority, Lancashire and England are included in the table below.
	The latest available figures for England are for 2004/2005; These are provisional and are not available for areas smaller than Government Office Regions. The latest available figures for smaller areas are for 2003/2004.
	
		Excess winter deaths1 for persons aged 65 years and over for West Lancashire local authority, Lancashire2, and England, 1997–98 to 2004–05
		
			  England Lancashire West Lancashire 
			  EWD(30) Index(32) EWD(30) Index(32) EWD(30) Index(32) 
		
		
			 1997–98 20,070 14.9 440 12.6 20 6.7 
			 1998–9 41,110 31.3 940 27,9 70 21.9 
			 1999–2000 42,080 32.6 1,030 31.4 60 19.5 
			 2000–01 21,650 16.7 600 18.5 90 31.7 
			 2001–02 24,100 18.6 670 20.3 60 19.7 
			 2002–03 20,890 16.0 260 7.5 20 6.6 
			 2003–04 20,420 15.6 540 16.4 20 7.3 
			 2004–05(33) 27,000 21.4 — — — — 
		
	
	(30) Excess winter deaths are defined by the Office for National Statistics as the difference between the number of deaths during the four winter months (December to March) and the average number of deaths during the preceding four months (August to November) and the following four months (April to July). Figures for 1997–98 to 2003–04 are rounded to the nearest 10.
	(31) The figures provided relate to the current county of Lancashire. This excludes the unitary authorities of Blackburn and Darwen, and Blackpool, created in 1998, which were part of the former county.
	(32) The excess winter deaths index is calculated as the excess number of winter deaths divided by the average number of non-winter deaths, expressed as a percentage.
	(33) Figures for 2004–05 are provisional and are rounded to the nearest 100.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefit Agency

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the additional transport costs which may be incurred by jobseekers as a result of the benefit agency office closure programme;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to help jobseekers in rural areas with additional transport costs incurred as a result of the benefit agency office closure programme.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 24 January 2006
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions concerning what estimate he has made of the additional transport costs which may be incurred by jobseekers as a result of the Jobcentre Plus office closure programme; and the steps he has taken to help jobseekers in rural areas with additional transport costs so incurred. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
	We do not maintain a central record of actual additional costs incurred by jobseekers as a result of changes in the configuration of our office network. This is because any changes in transport costs will vary between individual jobseekers and individual locations. Furthermore the levels of Jobseeker's Allowance already take account of the costs of transport for jobsearch-related activities (which includes the requirement to attend our offices on a regular, usually fortnightly, basis).
	However, in developing the plans for their Districts, each District Manager took account of the availability, frequency and costs of transport links to our offices. In the case of jobseekers in rural areas, it is open for Managers to make arrangements for jobseekers to sign on by post, rather than attend the office in person. The general rule for allowing postal signing is where:
	a. a customer lives more than one hour, door to door, by public transport (in either direction) from the nearest Jobcentre Plus office or Jobcentre; or
	b. attendance would result in an absence from home in excess of 4 hours; or
	c. the customer has a mental or physical disability which restricts their mobility.
	Jobcentre Plus Business Managers may also use some discretion in offering the postal facility to other customers, even if their journey is possible within the time limits stated above, For example, if the customer would have to use a form of transport which they could not be expected to use on a fortnightly basis, such as an Intercity train, a ferry or a plane.
	Occasionally customers are asked to attend a Jobcentre Plus Office or Jobcentre on a day when they are not usually due to attend to sign on (to see an Adviser for example). In these cases travel expenses are classed as additional and are reimbursed.
	I hope this is helpful.

Child Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the number of children living in relative poverty in the UK who are in households with (a) one or more adults in full-time work, (b) one adult only, not in work, (c) one adult only, in part-time work, (d) one adult only, (e) one adult on incapacity benefit, (f) one adult on income support and (g) one adult on jobseeker's allowance.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not available. The seventh annual 'Opportunity for all' report (Cm 6673) sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and reports progress against a range of indicators.
	Detailed information about the number and proportion of children living in low income households is published in Households Below Average Income 1994–95 to 2003–04", available in the Library. The report includes comparisons of incomes against low income thresholds, such as the commonly used relative low income threshold threshold of 60 per cent. of contemporary median income.

Child Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children were living in households with incomes of less than 27 per cent. of median income in each year since 1990–91; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not available.
	Detailed information about the number and proportion of children living in low income households is published in Households Below Average Income 1994–95 to 2003–04", available in the Library. HBAI defines low income households' using thresholds of 50, 60 and 70 per cent. of median income.
	The seventh annual 'Opportunity for all' report (Cm 6673) sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and reports progress against a range of income thresholds.

Child Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work andPensions what assessment he has made of the factors affecting child poverty; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: We recognise that poverty and social exclusion are not just about low income, or the goods and services that people can afford. We understand that people's opportunities and quality of life are also shaped by their education, their skills, by access to quality health services, by decent housing and by the security and quality of the areas in which they live.
	The seventh annual 'Opportunity for all' report (Cm 6673), published in October 2005, sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion. It contains an annex of indicators tracking the Government's performance on tackling poverty and social exclusion across a range of domains—amounting to around 60 indicators in total, 25 of which are child specific. We will continue to take this approach in the future.

Child Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the possible relationship between child poverty and families with higher numbers of children; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The Government announced in the Child Poverty Review in 2004 that it had a long-term aspiration to improve the financial support available to large families and will consider the best mechanism for achieving this.
	Specific information regarding low income for Great Britain is available in Households Below Average Income (HBAI) 1994/95—2003/04", available in the Library. The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income. The data shows that children in large families—those with three or more children—were more likely to live in low income households, although the risk of relative low income for this group has decreased markedly since 1998–99.

Child Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to develop (a) a measure of and (b) a target for severe relative poverty of children; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The seventh annual 'Opportunity for all' report (Cm 6673) sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and reports progress against a range of indicators. Our current approach is to present a range of low income thresholds (50, 60 and 70 per cent.). This gives an idea of the depth of poverty and it is simple to interpret. Indeed, the incorporation of two different relative low income thresholds into our new child poverty measure (60 and 70 per cent. of median), together with the absolute tier, further ensures that different depths of poverty will be looked at separately.
	Households reporting the lowest incomes may not have the lowest living standards. The bottom 10 per cent. of the income distribution should not, therefore, be interpreted as having the bottom 10 per cent. of living standards. This is a particular issue for lower thresholds, such as 50 per cent. of median. Other higher thresholds are less affected by this.
	We have no plans to modify our current approach.

Child Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the incidence of child poverty was in families with (a) children under the age of 10 years and (b) children over the age of 10 years in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not available.
	The seventh annual 'Opportunity for all' report (Cm 6673) sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and reports progress against a range of indicators.
	Detailed information about the number and proportion of children living in low income households is published in Households Below Average Income 1994/95–2003/04", available in the Library. The report includes comparisons of incomes against low income thresholds, such as the commonly used threshold of 60 per cent. of contemporary median income.

Child Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work andPensions what recent assessment he has made of theage distribution of children living in relative low income households in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is in the tables.
	Detailed information about the number and proportion of children living in low income households is published in Households Below Average Income 1994–95 to 2003–04", available in the Library. The report includes comparisons of incomes against low income thresholds, such as the commonly used threshold of 60 per cent. of contemporary median income.
	There is a stronger relationship between age of youngest child and low income than age of children alone. Results show that for families where the youngest child is older, the children are less likely to experience low income—particularly 'after housing costs'. This is linked with higher risks by size of family, since an older youngest child will correlate with a smaller family size.
	
		Proportion of children living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of median, 2003–04
		
			 Percentage 
			 Age of child Before housing costs After housing costs 
		
		
			 Under 5 18 28 
			 5 to 10 21 29 
			 11 to 15 23 28 
			 16 to 18 19 23 
			 All children 21 28 
		
	
	
		Composition of children in only those households below 60 per cent. of median by age of child, 2003–04
		
			 Percentage 
			 Age of child Before housing costs After housing costs 
		
		
			 Under 5 23 26 
			 5 to 10 34 35 
			 11 to 15 34 31 
			 16 to 18 9 8 
			 All children 100 100 
		
	
	
		Proportion of children living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of median by age of youngest child, 2003–04
		
			 Percentage 
			 Age of youngest child Before housing costs After housing costs 
		
		
			 Under 5 20 30 
			 5 to 10 22 29 
			 11 to 15 21 24 
			 16 to 18 12 16 
			 All children 21 28 
		
	
	
		Composition of children in only those households below 60 per cent. of median by age of youngest child, 2003–04
		
			 Percentage 
			 Age of youngest child Before housing costs After housing costs 
		
		
			 Under 5 40 44 
			 5 to 10 37 36 
			 11 to 15 20 18 
			 16 to 18 3 3 
			 All children 100 100

Child Support Agency

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the change in the annual maintenance payments of the Child Support Agency which would result from full compliance of all assessed cases; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Hilary Reynolds, dated 24 January 2006
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive, as Stephen Geraghty is on leave I am replying on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the increase in the annual maintenance payments of the Child Support Agency which would result from full compliance of all assessed cases and if he will make a statement.
	In the 12 months to September 2005, the Agency collected 69 per cent. 1 of maintenance charged to non-resident parents on the Agency's collection service, which equates to £678m. Had full compliance been achieved over this same period, this would have resulted in an increase in collections of around £260m.
	I hope you find this helpful.
	1 Measured according to the Agency's standard definition of cash compliance. Cash compliance is calculated by expressing the total amount of maintenance received via the collection service as a percentage of the total! amount due over the reporting period. The above includes those old scheme cases with a full maintenance assessment, and those new scheme cases with either a full maintenance calculation, or a default maintenance decision. Old scheme cases with an punitive interim maintenance assessment are excluded from this analysis in line with the Agency's target definitions, as are new scheme cases being processed clerically.

Child Support Agency

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps are being taken to ensure that individuals whose partners are self-employed can still receive Child Support Agency payments.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Mr. Stephen Geraghty. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 25 January 2006
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps are being taken to ensure that individuals whose partners are self-employed can still receive Child Support Agency payments.
	For employed non-resident parents who are initially non-compliant the Agency seeks to use deduction-from-earnings orders to secure maintenance. For self- employed non-resident parents these powers are inappropriate. In these cases the Agency instead uses one or more of a range of its other legal debt enforcement powers.
	Enforcement measures available to the Agency include:
	Liability Orders
	Collection via Bailiffs
	County Court Judgements
	Third Party Debt Orders (eg bank arrestment)
	Charging Order (to realise the debt from the sale of an asset)
	Order for Sale
	Commitment to Prison or withdrawal of Driving Licence
	The Agency's enforcement teams are becoming much more successful in utilising these powers. This is demonstrated by the significant improvement in the in-month cash collections achieved, rising from £0.52 million in January 2005 to £1.42 million in November 2005. An analysis of a sample of debt enforcement cases indicates that approximately 73 % are self-employed non-resident parents.

Departmental Websites

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department's website design was first implemented; for how long the search function of the website has been inoperative; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Department for Work and Pensions has had an internet site since the Department was formed on the 8 June 2001. The site was updated with a new design on the 15 May 2005. The redesign does not affect the search function, which is fully operational but has been operating on a non-standard port.
	From February 2006 the Department's internet site will be running on a new server and the search engine will operate on a standard port. This is in response to an increasing number of internet users-including users within the Department-who have set their computers with high security levels to block information from non-standard ports.
	Implementation of the new server will remove the problem.

Incapacity Benefit

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claiming incapacity benefit have indicated to his Department that they want to work.

Margaret Hodge: The opportunity to work is vitally important in tackling poverty, supporting inclusion and ensuring economic prosperity for both the individual and society. The right to work is as important as the right to equal treatment or access to services. For too many people on incapacity benefit have been denied this right, written off as incapable of work and locked into lifelong dependency on benefits.
	We know that the vast majority of people on incapacity benefit have genuine health problems or disabilities. But we also know that a large proportion of these people want to work. In the early stages of an incapacity benefit claim 80–90 per cent. of people expect to get back to work and around 1 million disabled benefit claimants want to work. So we want to ensure that they are given the opportunity to do so. Our task is to break down the barriers that incapacity benefit recipients face and give them the support they need, so that they can get a job and enjoy all the benefits that work can bring.

Local Housing Allowance

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what funding has been allocated to support piloting of the local housing allowance in the social rented sector;
	(2)  whether he plans to publish a consultation paper on his proposals for piloting the local housing allowance in the social rented sector;
	(3)  what research he has commissioned into the impact of the local housing allowance on the rental income streams of (a) local authorities and (b) housing associations;
	(4)  which (a) local authorities and (b) housing associations have expressed an interest in piloting the local housing allowance in the social rented sector.

James Plaskitt: 'A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work', which was published on 24 January, sets out our proposals for reforming housing benefit. Publication of this paper signals the start of a 12-week period of consultation on a number of issues and seeks stakeholder views on options for reforming housing benefit for tenants in the social rented sector.
	It is clearly desirable that we consult with those having an interest in social housing issues before making decisions about the direction of reform and it would be premature to commission research or put forward specific proposals for reform until after the end of the consultation period.

Local Housing Allowance

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of replacing the single room rent restriction with the shared room rate restriction available to under-25s under the local housing allowance.

James Plaskitt: No estimate has been made of the costs of replacing the single room rent nationally with the shared room rate under the local housing allowance.

New Deal

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will make a decision on the Jobcentre Plus contracts for the new deal, with particular reference to providers of basic skills training.

Margaret Hodge: Contracts for the new deal for young people and new deal 25 plus programmes, which include the provision of basic skills training, are currently being re-tendered. We announced the providers who have been successful at the first stage on the 16 January.

Pension Credit

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many single women pension credit recipients are in receipt of the guaranteed credit, broken down by constituency.

Stephen Timms: I have placed the requested information in the Library.

Pension Credit

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the average time taken to process applications for pension credit.

Stephen Timms: The Pension Service's internal target for processing applications for pension credit is 10 working days. The average time taken as at December 2005 was 8.66 working days. The year to date figure is 8.63 working days.

Pension Service Partnership Fund

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the work of the Pension Service Partnership Fund.

Stephen Timms: The objective of The Pension Service Partnership Fund is to pilot ways of increasing benefit take-up, particularly among harder to reach older people. The focus is on innovative partnership approaches involving local authorities and the voluntary and community sector. The Department for Work and Pensions awarded 172 contracts with a total value of £13 million. The majority of contracts run for two years from March 2005, although there are a number of shorter contracts which will terminate later this year.
	All Fund contractors provide regular statistical returns and narrative reports to the DWP on the progress of their activity which will inform both the evaluation of the individual schemes and the fund as a whole.
	Learning and best practice will be shared with partner organisations, and other interested groups, towards the end of the two year contract period; in the interim, a regular update is provided to partner organisations through the Partnerships Against Poverty Forum.

Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many companies have been fined for failing to offer stakeholder pensions in each year since 2002.

Stephen Timms: Since 2002 one employer has been fined for failing to designate a stakeholder Pension. This fine was imposed by the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (OPRA) in 2003.

Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the number of companies which are required to offer stakeholder pensions but do not.

Stephen Timms: Employers with five or more employees and who do not offer an occupational pension scheme to the whole of the work force, or do not offer at least a 3 per cent. employer contribution to a personal pension, are required to designate a stakeholder pension scheme. There are an estimated 350,000 such firms at any one time, and it is estimated that around 70,000 of those are not complying with the requirement to designate a stakeholder pension scheme. Of those non-compliant firms, it is estimated that nearly 80 per cent. have fewer than 10 employees.

Pensions

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what circumstances an individual may receive pension payments by cheque.

James Plaskitt: Cheque payments, which are cashable at a post office, are available for those customers who are unable to open or manage a bank account to support the direct payment method. This might be through illness or disability, or because they rely on different carers to collect their money for them.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many representations on pensions policy have been received by his Department since the publication of Lord Turner's final report on 30 November 2005; and if he will publish them.

Stephen Timms: Since the publication of The Pensions Commission's final report, the Department has received in excess of 800 letters from members of the public on pensions policy, 240 of these directly responding to the Pensions Commission's recommendations.
	In addition, as part of the wider National Pensions Debate, DWP Ministers' have engaged with a wide range of members of political parties, stakeholders and members of the public about pensions policy.
	As these individual representations were not invited as part of a formal consultation process on Government proposals for reform, we do not intend to publish them.
	However, all of these discussions and the correspondence we have received will Inform the next stages of the National Pensions Debate which will in turn inform ministerial decisions on pensions reform.
	The Government will work towards the publication of a White Paper in the spring which will set out its response to the Pensions Commission's recommendations. This will include a summary of the main themes of the representations received as part of the National Pensions Debate. A formal consultation exercise on the Government's proposals will be launched with publication of the White Paper.

Post Office

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people use the Post Office card account for receipt of (a) state pension, (b) pension credit and (c) other benefits (i) in total and (ii) broken down by region.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the latest available information on the number of benefit and pension accounts which are paid by direct payment into a Post Office card account.
	
		Number
		
			 Region State retirement pension Pension credit Other benefits 
		
		
			 North East 109,200 66,500 127,100 
			 North West 252,000 133,000 274,200 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 194,200 97,600 166,800 
			 East Midlands 149,500 65,500 106,700 
			 West Midlands 194,600 104,600 165,000 
			 East of England 153,900 66,300 89,400 
			 London 123,500 85,700 194,600 
			 South East 182,400 73,300 112,400 
			 South West 181,000 68,400 97,100 
			 Wales 152,300 67,800 146,500 
			 Scotland 193,900 108,000 205,800 
			 Total 1,886,500 936,700 1,685,600 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
	2. Figures refer to payment accounts.
	3. People in receipt of more than one benefit/pension will be counted for each separate benefit/pension in payment.
	4. People who have their benefit/pension combined and paid at the same time will only be counted through the paying benefit.

Winter Fuel Payments Allowance

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many UK nationals who are residents of (a) Florida, (b) Spain, (c) Italy, (d) South Africa and (e) Australia are in receipt of the winter fuel payments allowance; and at what cost to public funds in 2005–06.

Stephen Timms: Citizenship does not affect entitlement to a winter fuel payment as entitlement is based on residency in the UK. So far this winter we have made 20,373 winter fuel payments to qualifying former UK residents now living in Spain at a cost of £3,215,200 and 545 winter fuel payments to qualifying former UK residents now living in Italy at a cost of £90,400.
	People who are resident in Florida, South Africa and Australia are not entitled to winter fuel payments. We are aware of a very small number of cases where people have received payment in countries outside the EEA. This has been where notification of their change of circumstances has been received after payments have been issued, in these cases payments are stopped and repayment sought.

Workplace Accidents and Health Report

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the letter sent to hon. and right hon. Members on 14 November on the Health and Safety Executive's annual report on workplace accidents and health, if he will make available the equivalent figures for last year.

Anne McGuire: The information has been placed in the Library.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether (a) local authorities and (b) central government receives the additional revenue from increasing a council tax collection rate; and whether (i) local authorities and (ii) central government lose revenue from a low council tax collection rate.

Phil Woolas: The grant distribution formula for local authorities does not take account of council tax collection rates. A collection rate for council tax in excess of, or below, the billing authority's budgeted level will, other things being equal, mean increased or reduced revenue for a billing authority and its precepting authorities.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether local authorities retain additional income received from reducing or removing the council tax discount on empty property; and how much additional revenue has been raised for central government from reductions in the discounts in each year since the powers to reduce the discounts were introduced.

Phil Woolas: Local authorities do not retain the additional income generated from reducing or removing the council tax discount on long term empty properties. It is estimated that the additional amounts of council tax generated in 2004–05, the first year that billing authorities had powers to reduce or remove the discount, was £49 million. Figures for 2005–06 are not yet available.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recommendations for changes to council tax regulations noted in the Valuation Office Agency Local Authorities Liaison Group meeting minutes for 27 September 2004 were submitted to his Department by the Valuation Office Agency.

Phil Woolas: The proposals for changes to council tax regulations referred to in the minutes of the Valuation Office Agency Local Authorities Liaison Group meeting minutes for 27 September 2004 relate to regulation 3 of the Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings) Order, SI 1992/549. The Government have no current plans to amend this regulation.

Councillors (Pensions/Income)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 14 December 2005, Official Report, column 1964–5W, on councillors (pensions/income), if he will list the regulations or circulars that have changed the rules relating to allowances and pensions since May 1997 and the dates of their commencement.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is as follows.
	The Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (Amendment) Regulations 1998/556 Came into force: 1 April 1998
	The Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1998/557 Came into force: 1 April 1998
	The Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (Amendment) Regulations 1999/1086 Came into force: 30 April 1999
	The Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1999/1087 Came into force: 30 April 1999
	The Local Government Act 2000 Came into force: 28 July 2001 The Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2001/1280 Came into force: 4 May 2001
	The Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003/1021 Came into force: 1 May 2003
	The Local Government Pension Scheme and Discretionary Compensation (Local Authority Members in England) Regulations 2003/1022 Came into force: 1 May 2003
	The Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2003/1692 Came into force: 31 July 2003
	The Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2004/573 Came into force: 1 April 2004, Changes to decision, notification and dispute resolution procedures 1 June 2004.
	The Local Government Pension Scheme (Civil Partnership) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2005/3069 Came into force: 5 December 2005.

Councillors (Pensions/Income)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 14 December 2005, Official Report, columns 1964–65W, on councillors (pensions/income), what estimate he has made of the equivalent average monetary value of a councillor's pension after (a) four years, (b) eight years, (c) 12 years and (d) 16 years participation in the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. It is a matter for individual local authorities to consider.

Departmental Expenditure

Michael Weir: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was spent on advertising by (a) his Department and previous Departments with his Department's responsibilities, (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) Executive agency for which his Department is responsible and (c) independent statutory bodies, organisations and bodies financially sponsored by his Department in each year since May 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was formed in May 2002 and information prior to this date is not available. Expenditure shown as follows relates to advertising, marketing and publications and relates only to ODPM Central. A breakdown of expenditure for each agency, non departmental body and statutory body sponsored by the ODPM could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2002–03 (34)16,496,127 
			 2003–04 7,836,792 
			 2004–05 8,551,328 
			 2005–06 to date 8,312,919 
		
	
	(34) This figure includes expenditure from both ODPM and the Department for Transport (DfT) and which could not separately be identified.

Departmental Expenditure

John Spellar: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much his Department spent on bottled water in 2004–05.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and its Agencies spent a total of £62,476.11 on bottled water in 2004–05.
	This sum does not include bottled water supplied to delegates attending the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, or provided for students at the Fire Service College. The sum also does not include for any bottled water provided at 1 High street, Glossop, Ashdown House, Hastings and Temple Quay House, Bristol where this information is not recorded. Bottled water used in 26 Whitehall has been included within the answer provided by the Cabinet Office [ref ], who manage the building.
	Bottled water at three sites is dispensed from water coolers. Only the dispenser at Temple Quay House, Bristol is held on a rental agreement, the cost of which in 2004–05 was £860.53. This cost is included in the above total.
	The figure provided is exclusive of Value Added Tax.
	This answer does not include buildings occupied by Government Offices, who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.

Departmental Vehicles

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many cars are (a) owned and (b) leased by his Department; what models the cars are; what type of petrol each model requires; and what the fuel efficiency is of each model.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and its Agencies own and lease the following cars:
	
		
			 Cars (a) Owned (b) Leased Model Fuel Metric urban (cold) (l/100km) Metric extra urban (l/100km) Metric combined cycle (l/100km) 
		
		
			 ODPM 2  1 x Citroen Synergie LX 2.0 HDI Diesel 33.6 50.4 42.2 
			1 x Ford Mondeo 5 door hatchback 1.8 TDCi LX Diesel n/a n/a n/a 
			   2 2 x Peugeot 307 2003A estate 2. 0 Tds Hdi 90 Diesel 7.1 4.5 5.4 
			 ODPM total 2 2  
			 
			 Agency 10 0 1 x Ford Galaxy 1.9 PD Tdi  (115ps) Diesel 8.6 5.5 6.6 
			3 x Ford Focus 3/5 door Saloon 1.8 TDCi (100ps) Diesel 6.7 4.3 5.2 
			3 x Ford Focus 4 door Saloon and estate 1.8 Duratorq TDCi Diesel 6.8 4.4 5.3 
			3 x Ford Toureno Connect 1.8 Duratorq TDCi Diesel 7.9 5.8 6.6 
			 Agency total 10 0  
			 Total 12 2  
		
	
	The fuel efficiency of these cars has been provided in the metric urban (cold), metric extra urban and metric combined cycles; this data is for the vehicles when new.
	Where possible the data has been sourced via the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) on-line database. The data for the Citroen Synergie is not available on the VCA site and this has had to be obtained from another commercial source. Reliable data for the Ford Mondeo cannot be located.
	For vehicles provided to Government Departments by the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport has asked the Chief Executive of the GCDA to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	This answer does not include cars used by Government Offices, who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments,

Design for Manufacture

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister howmany of the homes being constructed as part of theDesign for Manufacture competition (a) are beingconstructed for £60,000 and (b) are intended to beclassed as affordable housing, broken down by location.

Yvette Cooper: The Design for Manufacture competition is being run by English Partnerships on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. English Partnerships is currently evaluating bids from developers for Stage 3 of the Design for Manufacture competition.
	A minimum of 30 per cent. of the housing units within the competition will be built to a target cost of £60,000 and the remainder will be larger and smaller dwellings that should be built at an equivalent cost-efficiency.
	At this stage, and subject to final planning applications, the number of homes on each site is as follows:
	Oxley Park, Milton Keynes, Phase 2 site. Total of 145 homes, of which 43 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	Oxford Road, Former Territorial Army Centre, Aylesbury Vale. Total of 100 homes, of which 30 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	Upton, Northampton, Site D2. Total of 165 homes, or which 36 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	Allerton Bywater Millennium Community, Leeds, Yorkshire. Total of 150 homes, of which 30 are anticipated to be affordable.
	School Road, Hastings. Total of 12 homes, with affordable housing level to be determined.
	Horns Cross, Stone, Dartford. Total of 37 homes, of which 11 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	Former Rowan High School site, Merton, London. Total of 180 homes, of which 54 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	Former Renny Lodge Hospital, London Road, Newport Pagnell, Bucks. Total of 60 homes, of which 20 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	Former Park Prewett Hospital, Kingsclere Rd, Basingstoke. Total of 137 homes, of which 47 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	Former Linton Hospital site, Maidstone. Total of 123 homes, of which 43 are anticipated to be affordable housing.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and English Partnerships are working to prepare a publication drawing out the lessons that have been learned from the Design for Manufacture competition. It will include information about costs, technologies and construction strategies. We aim to be able to publish this document by spring 2006.

Fire and Rescue Services

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how much funding his Department is making available to regional fire and rescue authorities to take into account housing expansion in the South East in their annual budgets in real cash terms per year in the years from 2001 to 2009;
	(2)  what account he has taken of the expansion of Milton Keynes in the new Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes fire authority budget.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The local government finance settlement provides formula grant to local authorities, including single service fire and rescue authorities, in England. The provisional local government finance settlement for 2006–07 and 2007–08 that was announced on the 5 December 2005 took account of projected population growth in each authority's area. This grant combined with council tax, specific grants and reserves determine the annual budget of an authority. There is no specific grant available to fire and rescue authorities relating to housing expansion.

Fire and Rescue Services

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many firefighters served the West Lancashire area (a) in 1997 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Information on the number of firefighters employed at constituency level is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Homelessness

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many homeless families in (a) Tamworth and (b) Staffordshire (i) were living in temporary accommodation and (ii) sleeping rough in each of the past five years;
	(2)  how many beds were available for homeless families in (a) Tamworth and (b) Staffordshire in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: Information about the number of households with children in temporary accommodation, as arranged by local authorities under homelessness legislation, has only been collected since March 2002 and this information together with that for the latest three years is presented in the following table for Tamworth and Staffordshire. Also presented in the table is number of people sleeping rough on any single night of the year, in each of the past five years.
	Each local authority in England has a duty to provide accommodation to households who have been accepted as homeless and are owed a main housing duty under homelessness legislation. If the authority cannot provide a settled solution straight away the household will be placed in temporary accommodation. For this reason, authorities will not have a set number of beds for homeless households.
	
		All households, and households containing children or an expectant mother, in temporary accommodation(35) arranged by local authorities under homelessness provisions of Housing Acts, and numbers of persons sleeping rough(36)
		
			  Households in TA as on 31 March 
			  Total Of which: with children Rough sleepers 
		
		
			 2001
			 Tamworth 105 (37)— 0 
			 All LAs in Staffordshire 270 (37)— 7 
			 
			 2002
			 Tamworth 94 90 0 
			 All LAs in Staffordshire 230 150 7 
			 
			 2003
			 Tamworth 83 75 0 
			 All LAs in Staffordshire 250 200 0 
			 
			 2004
			 Tamworth (38)— (38)— 0 
			 All LAs in Staffordshire 210 120 3 
			 
			 2005
			 Tamworth (38)— (38)— 0 
			 All LAs in Staffordshire 300 210 3 
		
	
	(35) Households in accommodation either pending a decision on their homelessness application or awaiting allocation of a settled home following acceptance. Excludes those households designated as homeless at home" that have remained in their existing accommodation and have the same rights to suitable alternative housing as those in accommodation arranged by the authority.
	(36) Number of persons sleeping rough, based on local authority mid-year counts or estimates.
	(37) Not collected.
	(38) Data not reported.
	Note:
	Figures for Staffordshire, which include estimates for partial and non-response, have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	ODPM P1E homelessness returns (quarterly) and HSSA returns (annual)

House Building (Aylesbury)

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the cost implications for the retained fire service of the planned expansion of housing in Aylesbury Vale.

Jim Fitzpatrick: No assessment has been made to the cost implications to Aylesbury Vale in relation to planned housing expansion in regards to the 2006–07 local government finance settlement. However, the provisional local government finance settlement for 2006–07 and 2007–08 that was announced on the 5 December 2005 by my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government, (Mr. Woolas) included the use of population projections as the dominant data drivers of population in the settlements.

House Repossessions

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what research his Department has commissioned into strategies to reduce the number of house repossessions in the UK.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) jointly commissioned report Homeowner Risks and Safety-nets: Mortgage Payment Protection and Beyond, University of York 2004" was a major piece of research that has informed the development of the Government's strategy on sustainable home ownership. The ODPM has also been involved in research commissioned by others through its membership of the SUSHO Partnership Steering Group". The Council of Mortgage Lenders, the Association of British Insurers and Department of Work and Pensions are also members of this group, whose aim is to produce an enhanced safety-net for home buyers that results in fewer households getting into arrears and losing their homes.
	The numbers of repossessions has fallen dramatically since the early 1990s when mortgage possessions peaked at 38,930 in the first half of 1991 and the numbers are expected to remain small: the total number of repossessions in 2004 was 6,230. The Government is working closely with the industry to ensure that home ownership is sustainable, and to improve the links between private provision and state intervention. A key part of this initiative is the wider availability and take up of mortgage payment protection insurance and similar products providing cover for borrowers during periods of difficulty.

Identity Fraud

Michael Penning: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what training his Department has provided for (a) front desk and (b) administrative staff in relation to identity fraud.

Jim Fitzpatrick: No specific identity fraud training is provided to staff in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). No 'front desk' facilities are provided by the ODPM to meet members of the public. Administrative staff are advised to request that members of the public put any requests for information, financial or otherwise, in writing.

Influenza Pandemic

Mike Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what advice he has given to local authorities about steps to be taken in the event of an influenza pandemic.

Jim Murphy: I have been asked to reply
	The Government have provided advice on pandemic influenza planning to local authorities and other category one responders under the Civil Contingencies Act in a variety of forms and through a range of mechanisms. This includes the general advice contained in the UK pandemic contingency plan as well as tailored advice for local authorities via the Local Government Association and the Regional Resilience Teams based in the Government offices in the English regions.

Local Government Finance

Andrew Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much Government grant was given to Oxfordshire county council by his Department in the financial year (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06.

Phil Woolas: The following table sets out the amount of grant payments made to Oxfordshire county council by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister since 2004–05.
	
		Funding 
		
			  Grant payment (£ million) 
		
		
			 2004–05 356.318 
			 2005–06 376.470 
			 Total 732.788

Local Government Finance

Jim Cousins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the (a) proposed total and (b) percentage net change in formula grant is between 2005–06 and 2006–07, taking into account the 2004–05 and 2005–06 amending reports for the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and how many local authorities in (i) Greater London, (ii) metropolitan authorities, (iii) all purpose authorities and (iv) shire counties had a (A) larger and (B) smaller percentage increase on a similar basis than the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Phil Woolas: The proposed net change in formula grant on a like-for-like basis, taking into account the 2004–05 and 2005–06 amending reports for the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne between 2005–06 and 2006–07 is £5.424 million or 3.7 per cent.
	The following table shows the number of authorities that had a (a) larger and (b) smaller percentage increase than Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
	
		Number
		
			   Class of authority (a) Authorities with an increase larger than Newcastle-upon-Tyne (b) Authorities with an increase smaller than Newcastle-upon-Tyne 
		
		
			 London boroughs including the city of London 1 32 
			 Metropolitan districts 1 34 
			 Unitary authorities including the Isle of Scilly 8 39 
			 Shire counties 2 32

Regional Reorganisation

Anne Main: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance his Department has given to (a) other Government departments and (b) executive agencies within other Government Departments on reorganising their administrative functions on a regional basis.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) does not provide specific guidance to other Government Departments, or their executive agencies, on reorganising their administrative functions regionally. The ODPM works closely with other Departments on a range of issues to develop the most effective policies, structures and institutions.
	For example, the Government Offices in the Regions now incorporate the work often Departments into a single, regional organisation to ensure that policies and programmes are co-ordinated efficiently and effectively to achieve maximum effect.

Social Housing

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent meetings he has held with (a) local authorities and (b) other interested groups concerning the development and maintenance of council housing; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has regular meetings with local authorities and outside interest groups concerning housing policy at which a number of issues are discussed.

Standards Board/Adjudication Panel

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total expenditure of the (a) Standards Board for England and (b) Adjudication Panel was in each year since it was established; and what the budget is for (i) 2005–06 and (ii) 2006–07.

Phil Woolas: Information on the amount of grant provided each year to the Standards Board for England and expenditure on the Adjudication Panel, the costs of which are included in the board's budget, is tabled as follows:
	
		£000
		
			  Grant to standards board including costs of adjudication panel  Expenditure on adjudication panel 
		
		
			 2001–02 2,423 — 
			 2002–03 6,159 — 
			 2003–04 7,932 436 
			 2004–05 8,940 386 
			 2005–06 9,181 476 
			 2006–07(39) 9,429 478 
		
	
	(39) Preliminary estimate.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list each property data variable and type allowed within the Valuation Office Agency's automated valuation model computer system.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member on 26 October 2005, Official Report, column 447W.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans the Valuation Office Agency has (a) to publish online and (b) to make publicly available (i) business property and (ii) domestic property attribute information; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Attribute data for the majority of business properties is currently available on the Valuation Office Agency's website at: www.voa.gov.uk, through the summary valuation scheme. The Valuation Office Agency has no plans to make attribute information publicly available for domestic property following the postponement of the council tax revaluation in England.

HEALTH

Acute Hospital Portfolio

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the results of the acute hospital portfolio 2005–06 service user satisfaction surveys; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The acute hospital portfolio service users satisfaction survey is part of reviews of diagnostic services and medicines management being carried out by the Healthcare Commission at acute trusts. The chairman of the Commission has confirmed that the national results of the reviews, including those from the service users satisfaction survey, will be published in the summer.

Avian Influenza

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated cost is of inoculating everyone in the UK against the H5N1 strand of avian influenza.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 19 January 2006
	The cost of such a policy is dependent on a number of factors including some which would be commercially confidential. As such, an estimated cost cannot be provided for such a strategy.

Barts and the London NHS Trust

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when (a) she and (b) other Ministers at her Department first saw the full business case for redevelopment at the Barts and the London NHS Trust.

Jane Kennedy: Department officials have not yet concluded their review of the full business case for the Barts and the London private finance initiative scheme. When this is complete, it will be submitted to my office for approval. Therefore, I understand that neither the Secretary of State nor any other Minister has seen the full business case.

Alcohol-related Illnesses

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished consultant episodes for alcohol-related illnesses there have been in England for (a) patients aged under 18 years and (b) patients 18 years and over, broken down by health authority in each year between 1987 and 1997.

Caroline Flint: The data are not available for years earlier than 1996–97, data for 1996–97 are shown in the table.
	
		Counts of finished consultant episodes where there was a primary diagnosis code for selected alcohol(40) related diseases
		
			 Strategic health authority of residence Aged under 18 Aged 18 and over Age not known Total 
		
		
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire HA 109 929 44 1,082 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire HA 142 620 2 764 
			 Essex HA 70 749 — 819 
			 North West London HA 56 1,217 11 1,284 
			 North Central London HA 65 881 6 952 
			 North East London HA 57 989 1 1,047 
			 South East London HA 70 1,023 2 1,095 
			 South West London HA 105 876 2 983 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear HA 227 1,661 7 1,895 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley HA 257 1,084 2 1,343 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire HA 144 992 2 1,138 
			 West Yorkshire HA 229 1,584 2 1,815 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire HA 254 2,474 — 2,728 
			 Greater Manchester HA 271 3,093 1 3,365 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside HA 363 3,672 6 4,041 
			 Thames Valley HA 69 1,020 — 1,089 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight HA 104 1,271 — 1,375 
			 Kent and Medway HA 117 862 — 979 
			 Surrey and Sussex HA 160 1,699 5 1,864 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire HA 149 1,459 — 1,608 
			 South West Peninsula HA 127 1,079 — 1,206 
			 Dorset and Somerset HA 78 997 1 1,076 
			 South Yorkshire HA 153 887 — 1,040 
			 Trent HA 198 2,172 — 2,370 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland HA 97 779 — 876 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire HA 158 1,119 — 1,277 
			 Birmingham and The Black Country HA 172 2,352 3 2,527 
			 Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire HA 171 1,537 2 1,710 
			 Scotland 2 22 — 24 
			 England—not otherwise specified 3 363 5 371 
			 Wales 17 101 — 118 
			 Foreign 6 43 1 50 
			 Unknown 49 658 607 1,314 
			 Northern Ireland — 18 — 18 
			 Total 4,249 40,282 712 45,243 
		
	
	(40) Alcohol related diseases defined as following International Classification of Disease-10 (ICD-10) codes recorded in primary diagnosis:
	F10: Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol
	K70: Alcoholic liver disease
	T51: Toxic effect of alcohol
	Source:
	NHS Hospitals, England 1996–97

Alcohol-related Illnesses

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions to hospital via accident and emergency departments who had an alcohol-related diagnosis were (a) aged 18 years and over and (b) aged under 18 years, broken down by health authority area in each year between 1987 and 1997.

Caroline Flint: The data are not available for years earlier than 1996–97. Data for 1996–97 are shown in the table.
	
		Counts of finished admission episodes where there was a primary diagnosis code for selected alcohol(41) related diseases and admission methods(42), 1996–97
		
			 Strategic health authority of residence Aged under 18 Aged 18 and over Age not known Total 
		
		
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire HA 102 352 14 468 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire HA 135 350 1 486 
			 Essex HA 65 438 — 503 
			 North West London HA 54 751 10 815 
			 North Central London HA 65 595 5 665 
			 North East London HA 56 693 1 750 
			 South East London HA 67 643 2 712 
			 South West London HA 99 469 — 568 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear HA 217 737 6 960 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley HA 238 446 2 686 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire HA 141 506 2 649 
			 West Yorkshire HA 222 796 2 1,020 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire HA 220 1,278 — 1,498 
			 Greater Manchester HA 259 1,232 1 1,492 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside HA 352 1,654 6 2,012 
			 Thames Valley HA 59 484 — 543 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight HA 91 584 — 675 
			 Kent and Medway HA 95 365 — 460 
			 Surrey and Sussex HA 145 791 3 939 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire HA 111 471 — 582 
			 South West Peninsula HA 109 407 — 516 
			 Dorset and Somerset HA 67 507 1 575 
			 South Yorkshire HA 150 424 — 574 
			 Trent HA 186 778 — 964 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland HA 89 243 — 332 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire HA 137 405 — 542 
			 Birmingham and The Black Country HA 162 932 3 1,097 
			 Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire HA 158 837 1 996 
			 Scotland 2 17 — 19 
			 England—not otherwise specified 3 234 5 242 
			 Wales 15 35 — 50 
			 Foreign 6 28 1 35 
			 Unknown 43 376 545 964 
			 Northern Ireland — 5 — 5 
			 Total 3,920 18,863 611 23,394 
		
	
	(41) Alcohol related diseases defined as following International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) codes recorded in primary diagnosis:
	F10: Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol
	K70: Alcoholic liver disease
	T51: Toxic effect of alcohol
	(42) Selected Methods of Admission:
	Emergency (via accident and emergency (A&E) services including the casualty department of the provider)
	Emergency (other means, including patients who arrive via A&E department of another healthcare provider)
	Source:
	NHS Hospitals, England 1996–97

Audible Fire Alarms

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the premises occupied by her Department is fitted with audible fire alarms.

Jane Kennedy: The Department's five main office premises are all fitted with audible fire alarms.

Brain Tumours (Treatment)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence appraisal consultation document on the use of carmustine implants and temozolomide for treatment of newly diagnosed and high grade glioma;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence preliminary recommendation that (a) temozolomide and (b) carmustine implants should not be used for the treatment of newly diagnosed high grade glioma;
	(3)  if she will make a statement on the clinical effectiveness of the use of (a) carmustine implants and (b) temozolomide for the treatment of newly diagnosed high grade glioma.

Jane Kennedy: The Department will respond by 1 February 2006 to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) appraisal consultation document on carmustine implants and temozolomide for the treatment of newly diagnosed high grade glioma. Consultation responses will be published on NICE'S website at www.nice.org.uk in due course. NICE expects to publish its final guidance in August 2006.

Brain Tumours (Treatment)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken by her Department to speed up the licensing by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence of new treatments for brain tumour patients.

Jane Kennedy: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence does not license drugs.
	Medicinal products for human use containing a new active substance and for which the therapeutic indication is the treatment of cancer, are assessed through the centralised procedure which is administered by the European Medicines Agency.

Children's Hospices

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much public funding has been allocated to children's hospices serving Staffordshire in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	Children's hospices are funded from a number of sources, including primary care trusts (PCTs), based on their assessment of children's needs and their priorities locally. This is a matter for local decision. There are no limits to the amount of funding which PCTs may provide.

Dentistry

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health after how many months a patient's registration lapses in the case of a patient who is registered with (a) a dentist operating under the general dental service contract and (b) a dentist operating under a personal dental service contract, for the purposes of collecting dental registration statistics.

Rosie Winterton: For dentists operating under general dental services, a patient's registration lapses if he does not return to see that dentist within a 15-month period.
	For dentists operating under pilot personal dental service arrangements, the dental practice board records patients seen in a 30-month period. This reflects the practice's total patient base.
	From April 2006 all practices operating under the new contract will retain patients on their list for 30 months.

Dentistry

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental (a) nurses, (b) hygienists and (c) therapists there were in (i) Southend, (ii) Essex, (iii) Hertfordshire, (iv) Greater London and (v) England in the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: Information on dental nurses and hygienists is not held centrally as most dental care professionals are employed by independent general dental practitioners. It may be assumed that virtually all practising dentists will employ a dental nurse. Information on the numbers of dentists working in the relevant areas is shown in the following table as a rough indicator of the number of dental nurses.
	
		General dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS). Numbers of GDS and PDS dentists in England and the specified areas as at 30 September each year.
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 England 16,670 17,199 17,755 18,167 18,722 18,946 19,260 19,722 20,890 
			 of which:  
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA 707 733 758 777 794 805 834 858 924 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA 638 672 714 739 775 770 771 808 873 
			 Essex SHA 530 543 562 595 590 566 574 595 662 
			 North West London SHA 1,004 1,080 1,089 1,058 1,059 1,012 1,038 1,078 1,145 
			 North Central London SHA 632 639 667 699 709 710 713 713 766 
			 North East London SHA 537 567 574 597 610 590 614 649 720 
			 South East London SHA 633 637 638 674 670 651 673 694 741 
			 South West London SHA 629 643 665 681 702 683 681 689 756 
			 Southend on Sea PCT 57 62 64 65 65 62 61 60 66 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The dentists include principals, assistants and trainees. Prison contracts are excluded from the data.
	2. The postcode of the dental practice was used to allocate dentists to specific geographic areas. primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA) areas have been defined using the Office of National Statistics all fields postcode directory.
	3. Data includes all notifications, received by the Dental Practice Board, up to 2 November 2005 for England and 19 October 2005 for PCT and SHA data. Figures for the numbers of dentists at specified dates may vary depending upon the notification period, e.g. data with a later notification period will include more recent notifications of dentists joining or leaving the GDS or PDS.
	Source:
	Dental Practice Board
	Information relating to dental therapists directly employed in the hospital and community health is shown in the following table.
	
		National health service hospital and community health services: Qualified dental therapists in England by Government office region (GOR) and by strategic health authority (SHA) area in England as at 30 September each specified year.
		
			 GOR code Strategic health authority SHA code 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			  England — 137 130 126 119 122 125 148 203 164 175 
			  of which:
			 G East of England total — 6 7 4 6 4 8 15 15 15 18 
			  Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Q02 3 4 3 5 3 7 14 14 15 18 
			  Essex Q01 2 2 — — — — — — — — 
			  Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Q03 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 — — 
			 H London total  17 19 18 12 15 21 17 17 16 17 
			  North Central London Q05 2 3 3 4 5 4 3 3 2 3 
			  North East London Q06 4 4 2 — — — 2 5 5 6 
			  North West London Q04 4 3 3 2 5 7 6 7 5 5 
			  South East London Q07 2 4 5 2 2 3 3 — — — 
			  South West London Q08 5 5 5 4 3 7 3 2 4 3 
		
	
	Note:
	1995–2001 data is estimated based on 2002 organisational structure.
	Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census
	Source:
	Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census

Departmental Estate

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the former (a) buildings and (b) land of (i) her Department and (ii) (A) non-departmental public bodies, (B) agencies and (C) independent statutory bodies for which her Department is responsible which have been sold since 7 May 1997; what the sale price of each (1) was at the time of sale and (2) is at current prices; and whether the money accrued was (x) retained by her Department and (y) claimed by the Treasury.

Jane Kennedy: Three properties, buildings and land combined, have been sold since 7 May 1997. All three properties were owned by the Department.
	
		Sale of departmental properties since 7 May 1997
		
			 Property Date of sale Sale price (£) Sale price (estimated current value)(£) 
		
		
			 St. Charles Centre, Brentwood 1 February 2000 3,000,000 3,467,462 
			 Capital Drive, Milton Keynes 5 January 2001 3,725,000 4,214,845 
			 Glenthorne Youth Treatment Centre, Birmingham 14 May 2002 3,607,067 3,963,270 
		
	
	The money accrued from the sales was retained by the Department.

Departmental Estate

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) land and (b) property is owned by her Department in Castle Point.

Jane Kennedy: Neither the Department nor the Secretary of State for Health owns land or property in Castle Point.

Departmental Expenditure

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the expenditure on (a) buildings and (b) insurance of buildings and staff was of (i) her Department and (ii) each (A) non-departmental public body, (B) Executive agency and (C) other public body for which her Department is responsible in each English region in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06 in each case.

Jane Kennedy: The expenditure on buildings and insurance for the Department, non-departmental public bodies (NDPB) and executive agencies in each of the last three years, plus planned expenditure for 2005–06 is shown in the table.
	Details of expenditure for other public bodies in each region are not held centrally. The cost of collating this data would be disproportionate.
	
		Department, NDPB and Executive agencies expenditure on buildings and insurance 2002–03 to 2005–06
		
			 £000 
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 Department 
			 Buildings 27,280 28,591 29,653 27,119 
			 Insurance 102 134 160 147 
			  
			 NDPB 
			 Buildings 789 2,082 952 1,350 
			 Insurance 12.5 24 24 28.5 
			 Agencies 
			 Buildings 1,185 1,930 1,407 1,211 
			 Insurance 79 84 74 39

Departmental Expenditure

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by her Department on refreshments in each year since 1997.

Jane Kennedy: The Department has spent the following amounts on refreshments and food since 2002, previous years are not available due to a change in contractor:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2002 693,928 
			 2003 705,889 
			 2004 701.236 
			 2005 794,021 
		
	
	This figure includes working breakfasts or lunches, meetings and official entertainment.
	All expenditure of official entertainment is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting".

Departmental Expenditure

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent by her Department on salaries paid to civil servants in each year since 1997.

Jane Kennedy: Information on the Department's administration costs, including paybill, for years from 1999–2000 is given in the Departmental Annual Report 2005 (Cm 6524). The most recent Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper (Cm 6639) gives some provisional information on the 2004–05 outturn for departmental administration costs.
	Information for earlier years to 1997–98 is not available on a consistent basis, and information on the Department's running costs for those years is given at table 13.1 in the departmental report 2000–01 (Cm 4603).

Drug Treatment Centres

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the addresses of drug treatment centres which specialise in (a) opiate addiction and (b) cocaine addiction.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 23 January 2006
	The information requested is not available in the format requested. Comprehensive details of all drug treatment services is available on the National Treatment Agency's website at:
	www.nta.nhs.uk and on DrugScope's website at:
	www.drugscope.org.uk/drugbaseii/home.asp.
	There are approximately 683 drug treatment services 1 currently available in England, the majority of which specialise in treatment of opiate addiction; there are few services which specialise in the treatment of cocaine addiction. All drug misusers have access to a wide variety of services including structured counselling, harm reduction, aftercare and complementary therapies.
	Source:
	DrugScope

Genetically Modified Foods

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State forHealth what plans she has to commission research into the public health effects of genetically modified foods.

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has a research programme on the safety of novel and genetically modified (GM) foods and its research requirements are published at regular intervals via its website. Genetically modified foods are approved in the European Union on a case-by-case basis after an extensive safety assessment. The FSA currently has no plans to commission research into public health effects of GM foods.

Health Care Fraud

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate she has made of the cost to the NHS of people accessing free care to which they are not entitled.

Jane Kennedy: Anyone who is ordinarily resident in this country is entitled to receive free national health service hospital treatment. Anyone who is not ordinarily resident is subject to the provisions of the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989, as amended. Successive Governments have not required the national health service to provide statistics on the number of overseas visitors seen or treated under the provisions of these Regulations or on the costs of treatment. It is therefore not possible to provide the information requested.

Healthcare Commission

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of staffing levels at the Healthcare Commission; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The chairman of the Healthcare Commission has confirmed that as at 5 January 2006 there were 684 whole time equivalent staff on the Commission's payroll. This included permanent and fixed term contractor staff. There were also 176 interim and temporary staff.

High Cholesterol

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many diagnoses of high cholesterol there have been in England in each year since 1997–98; and how many of these diagnoses were made in those under the age of 18 years.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		All diagnosis count of finished consultant episodes and patients for high cholesterol(43) in national health service hospitals, England 1997–98 to 2004–05
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2001–01 
			 Age group Finished consultant episodes Patient counts Finished consultant episodes Patient counts Finished consultant episodes Patient counts Finished consultant episodes Patient counts 
		
		
			 Under 18 167 121 200 167 244 198 298 209 
			 18 and above 53,537 39,373 72,748 53,420 94,622 67,977 132,880 91,718 
			 Not known 226 153 35 32 42 40 257 133 
			 Total 53,930 39,647 72,983 53,619 94,907 68,215 133,436 92,060 
		
	
	
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
			 Age group Finished consultant episodes Patient counts Finished consultant episodes Patient counts Finished consultant episodes Patient counts Finished consultant episodes Patient counts 
		
		
			 Under 18 344 240 336 270 393 318 558 426 
			 18 and above 162,655 111,682 200,733 134,702 225,665 155,308 288,424 195,375 
			 Not known 202 200 141 139 87 87 70 70 
			 Total 163,201 112,122 201,211 135,111 226,145 155,713 289,052 195,871 
		
	
	(43) High cholesterol can be coded as either a diagnosis or as a test result. If the case notes states this as a firm diagnosis of high cholesterol then E78.0, pure hypercholesterolemia code would be used if it is recorded as an abnormal test finding then R79.8, other specified abnormal findings of blood chemistry code would be used. High cholesterol counts include both of the aforementioned defined International Category of Disease-10 (ICD-10) codes where they were recorded in the primary or in any of the secondary diagnosis fields.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Influenza Vaccine

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Healthon what date she ordered an additional 200,000 doses of winter influenza vaccine to act as a contingency reserve.

Caroline Flint: We ordered an additional 200,000 doses of flu vaccine for delivery in January on 3 November 2005.

Influenza Vaccine

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doses of influenza vaccine were (a) ordered for and (b) administered as part of the routine seasonal influenza immunisation programme excluding the Department's contingency stock, in each year since 1997–98; what the size of the contingency stock of seasonal influenza vaccine was in each year; and what the size of each at-risk group eligible for free influenza vaccines has been in each year.

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of people in each priority group for influenza vaccination in England in each of the last three years.

Caroline Flint: The data for the United Kingdom as a whole, is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of vaccine doses issued in UK(44) Size of government stockpile Number in at-risk groups(45) 
		
		
			 1997–98 7.2 million 0 n/a 
			 1998–99 7.6 million 0 n/a 
			 1999–2000 7.8 million 0 n/a 
			 2000–01 10.9 million 0 (46)12.88 
			 2001–02 11.4 million 500,000 12.93 
			 2002–03 11.9 million 500,000 13.00 
			 2003–04 11.8 million 0 13.09 
			 2004–05 12.3 million 400,000 rising to  2.9 million 13.17 
			 2005–06 (47)13.6 million 400,000 rising to  1.2 million (48)13.26 
		
	
	n/a = Not available.
	(44) Based on manufacturer's UK distribution figures. Does not include Government stockpile.
	(45) These figures do not include carers, whom it has always been at the discretion of general practitioners to vaccinate.
	(46) This is the first year in which the Department conducted a targeted campaign, when the policy of vaccinating all of those over the age of 65 was first introduced, and so is the first year for which the number in at risk groups are available.
	(47) Estimated production.
	(48) Individuals with liver disease were added to the at risk groups in this year.
	Flu vaccine uptake data in the over 65 age group was first collected from the start of the flu campaign in 2000, and data on vaccine uptake in those under 65 years in a medical risk group has been collected since 2004.
	Vaccine uptake in the 65+ group is as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 2000–01 65.3 
			 2001–02 67.7 
			 2002–03 68.5 
			 2003–04 71.0 
			 2004–05 71.5 
		
	
	Vaccine uptake in at-risk groups under 65 years of age for 2004–05 was 54 per cent.

Lone Heath Care Staff (Safety)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the potential of MobileSOS and similar technology to protect lone healthcare and social workers; and whether she plans to make such technology available to healthcare and social workers.

Jane Kennedy: Guidance on how national health service health bodies should properly protect NHS loneworking staff, including how they should evaluate the use of technology for this purpose, was published by the NHS security management service (NHS SMS) in March 2005. NHS SMS has responsibility for all policy and operational matters related to the management of security delivery within the NHS. It is raising standards of security work in a comprehensive, inclusive and professional manner to ensure real, permanent improvements are made.
	An extensive evaluation of a mobile phone based device specifically designed to protect NHS staff was carried out by the NHS SMS in 2004. The evaluation report is available from their website at: www.cfsms.nhs.uk.
	The decision on whether to purchase such technology, and what system should be bought, must be a decision for the individual NHS health body, based on a comprehensive assessment of their staff's needs and the risks they face.

Maternity Units

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Healthhow many maternity units achieved (a) level one, (b) level two and (c) level three of the clinicalnegligence scheme for trusts in each year since 2000.

Jane Kennedy: The first year of formal clinical negligence scheme for trusts (CNST) maternity standards assessments was 2003–04 when all national health service trusts and two primary care trusts (PCTs) with significant maternity services were assessed by the NHS Litigation Authority, unless they had demonstrated compliance during the pilot exercise held in 2002–03.
	The table shows the number of trusts at each level of the CNST maternity standards at the end of the last two financial years and end of the third quarter 2005–06. These are the latest available figures.
	
		
			  31 March 2004 31 March 2005 31 December 2005 
		
		
			 Pending 0 0 1 
			 Level 0 20 0 2 
			 Level 1 108 102 94 
			 Level 2 24 46 54 
			 Level 3 1 5 7 
			 Total 153 153 (49)158 
		
	
	(49) This figure includes PCTs with midwifery-led units, which were not previously assessed.

Mental Health Treatment

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average length of treatment was following referrals to (a) psychiatrists, (b) clinical psychologists, (c) psychotherapists, (d) cognitive and behavioural therapists and (e) other therapists in the last year for which figures are available, broken down to the most local level for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: Information available about the average length of treatment for hospital admissions following referrals to psychiatrists in 2004–05 has been placed in the Library. Information is not available in respect of other categories.

Mental Health Treatment

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for treatment following referral to (a) a psychiatrist, (b) a clinical psychologist, (c) a psychotherapist, (d) a cognitive and behavioural therapist and (e) other therapists in each of the last five years, broken down to the most local level for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not routinely collect information on waiting times for appointments with non-consultant-led services. Information on the estimated average waiting time from general practitioner written referral to first outpatient appointment with a psychiatry consultant in each mental health provider trust in each of the last five years has been placed in the Library.

NHS Sites (Car Parking Charges)

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance she has issued to (a) NHS trusts and (b) other NHS organisations on charging for car parking space on NHS sites in the last three years.

Jane Kennedy: Guidance on implementing car parking charges was last issued to the national health service in 1996 but remains extant. It is a matter for individual NHS trusts to decide whether or not to charge for car parking, and the level of charges in the light of local circumstances.

Older People

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Commission for Social Care Inspection is taking (a) to promote the health of older people and (b) to improve chronic disease management in care homes; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The chairman of the Healthcare Commission has confirmed that the Healthcare Commission has identified supporting improvement in the care and treatment of older people and people with long-term conditions amongst its priorities.
	This commitment is reflected in its programme of activities which includes;
	assessing performance against national targets to make sure that care in these and other national priority areas continues to improve;
	other improvement activities targeted at services for older people and people with long-term conditions, including improvement reviews of services for people with heart failure and diabetes, a national study of services for people with COPD and the funding of a programme of national clinical audits which includes a number of major long-term conditions and elements of the care of older people; and
	publication in February of a major report on services used by older people, produced jointly with CSCI and the Audit Commission.

Osteoporosis

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she plans changes to the use of (a) biphosphonates, (b) ralox and (c) strontium ranelate as treatments for osteoporosis on the NHS.

Jane Kennedy: Raloxifene and strontium ranelate are licensed for the treatment and prevention of post-menopausal osteoporosis and the drugs may be used in the national health service within those licensed indications. The class of drugs called biphosphonates, which includes strontium ranelate, includes a number of different brands which are licensed for the treatment of various indications. It is for manufacturers of those drugs to apply for changes to the licensed indications in order for their use in the NHS to change.

Parliamentary Questions

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines are given to her Parliamentary Response Unit on dealing with questions of a scientific nature.

Jane Kennedy: The Department's answers to all parliamentary questions are drafted in accordance with the Cabinet Office document Guidance to officials on drafting answers to parliamentary questions", copies of which are available in the Library.

Press Releases

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many press releases were issued by her Department in each year since 1992.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Press releases issued by Department of Health, 1992–93 to 2005–06
		
			 Financial year Number 
		
		
			 1992–93 553 
			 1993–94 625 
			 1994–95 619 
			 1995–96 431 
			 1996–97 296 
			 1997–98 330 
			 1998–99 559 
			 1999–2000 743 
			 2000–01 697 
			 2001–02 609 
			 2002–03 441 
			 2003–04 431 
			 2004–05 427 
			 2005–12 January 2006 266

Private Finance Initiative

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Healthwhat plans she has to review the use of the private finance initiative for major hospital rebuilding projects.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 19 January 2006
	The private finance initiative (PFI) has been a major contributor to the largest hospital building programme in the national health service's history. Since May 1997, PFI has led to the construction of 48 new hospital schemes. Going into the future, we remain committed to the continued use of PFI as a mechanism for delivering the required capital investment into the NHS. Individual projects need a sound business case to be affordable and are scrutinised carefully.

Social Services (Tamworth)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clients aged 16 to 19 years were seen by social services in Tamworth in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of all referrals of children and young people to social services departments is published in the Department for Education and Skill's (DfES) Referrals, Assessments and Children and Young People on Child Protection Registers" statistical volume, which is available on the DfES website at: www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000553/index.shtml
	For clients aged 18 to 64, 2,940 new clients were assessed and 2,820 existing clients were reviewed in 2003–04 by Staffordshire council with social service responsibilities. Data for earlier years is not available on a comparable basis.

Testicular Cancer

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent campaigns her Department has undertaken to raise awareness of testicular cancer.

Rosie Winterton: We encourage men to be aware of the early signs and symptoms of testicular cancer. To increase awareness of testicular cancer we have collaborated with Cancer Research UK in the production of the leaflet, Testicular Cancer: Spot The Symptoms Early. The leaflet is available in all primary care settings and in 200506 600,000 copies for the leaflet were produced.
	Also in 200304 we provided 30,000 to the men's health forum to help fund their publication, the men and cancer manual. This manual gives men information, in plain English, on all cancers including testicular cancer.

NORTHERN IRELAND

A Shared Future

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he is planning to prioritise the aims and objectives of A Shared Future in the spending plans of each Northern Ireland department.

Angela Smith: The measures that Departments will take to prioritise the aims and objectives of A Shared Future will be reflected in the triennial action plan, which ill be announced by March 2006.
	Departmental spending plans will further reflect the policy objectives of A Shared Future.

A Shared Future

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what resources will be provided for implementing the Shared Future strategy.

Angela Smith: Expenditure planned in 200607 on community relations/good relations activities across departments, which is about 15 million, will be specifically used to support the objectives of A Shared Future.

Administration Costs

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the administrative costs were of each agency for which he has responsibility in the last year for which figures are available; what the total of such costs was in that year; and whether the costs are regarded for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses as (a) identifiable and (b) non-identifiable.

Shaun Woodward: The administrative costs in the 200405 financial year for each Agency in the Northern Ireland Office are as follows:
	
		Total administrative costs 200405
		
			 Agency 000 
		
		
			 Northern Ireland Prisons Service 13,196 
			 Compensation Agency for Northern Ireland 4,332 
			 Forensic Science Agency for Northern Ireland 7,229 
			 Youth Justice Agency for Northern Ireland 2,327 
			 Total 27,084 
		
	
	All the costs of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) relate to Northern Ireland as per the public expenditure statistical analyses and are regarded as identifiable.

Administration Costs

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the administrative costs were of each non-departmental public body for which he has responsibility in the last year for which figures are available; what the total of such costs was in that year; and whether the costs are regarded for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses as (a) identifiable and (b) non-identifiable.

Shaun Woodward: The administration budgets regime which Treasury oversee is for Whitehall Departments only. This type of regime does not apply to non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). However, information on NDPBs can be found on the public bodies database which is held on the Cabinet Office's Civil Service Agencies and Public Bodies website http://www.knowledgenetwork.gov.uk/ndpb/ndpb.nsf. The database gives full information, summary statistics and analysis only for bodies sponsored by UK Government departments (this includes the Northern Ireland Office).
	All the costs of the Northern Ireland Office relate to Northern Ireland as per the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses.

Chronic Back Pain

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what initiatives are being taken in his Department to help civil servants with chronic back pain.

Shaun Woodward: The following initiatives are being taken in the Northern Ireland Office to help civil servants with chronic back pain
	Referral to appropriate Occupational Health Services for assessment on condition and for recommendation on adjustments taking account of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
	Availability of Health and Safety Adviser, Premises Officer, Welfare Service and Disability Liaison Officer to provide appropriate advice.
	Availability of an orthopaedic chair if approved by the Department's Medical Adviser.

Departmental Contracts

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total value is of (a) catering and (b) entertainment contracts let by his Department; and what value of such contracts has been let in each nation and region of the UK, including London.

Shaun Woodward: For the financial year 200405 the value of catering contracts let in Northern Ireland was 48,000. The Northern Ireland Office has not let catering contracts in any other region of the UK. The NIO does not have any entertainment contracts.

Departmental Estate

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the former (a) buildings and (b) land of (i) his Department and (ii) (A) non-departmental public bodies, (B) agencies and (C) independent statutory bodies for which his Department is responsible which have been sold since 7 May 1997; what the sale price of each (1) was at the time of sale and (2) is at current prices; and whether the money accrued was (x) retained by his Department and (y) claimed by the Treasury.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is as follows.
	(i) Northern Ireland Office (NIO) Core Department
	
		
			   Sale price at: Money accrued was: 
			  Asset type Time of sale (1) () Current prices (2) () (x) Retained by Department (y) Claimed by Treasury 
		
		
			 199798 One house 150,000 184,381 (x)  
			 199899 Four houses 417,500 496,182 (x)  
			 19992000 Two houses 169,500 198,399 (x)  
			 200001 Two houses 223,495 254,073 (x)  
			 200102 Three houses 1,798,000 2,008,614 (x)  
			 200203 Three houses 264,000 290,070 (x)  
			 200304 One house 145,000 154,837 (x)  
			 200405 14 houses 1,874,500 1,943,777 (x)  
			 200506 13 houses 3,052,500 3,052,500 (x)  
			  Land 56,000 56,000 (x)  
			 Total  8,150,495 8,638,833   
		
	
	(ii) (A) Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs)
	Please see following tables for the only NIO NDPBs which have sold land and buildings since 1997the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI).
	
		PSNI
		
			  Sale price at: Money accrued was: 
			 Asset type Time of sale(1) () Current prices(2) () (x) Retained by Department (y) Claimed by Treasury 
		
		
			 200102 
			 Land and buildings 9,000,000 9,979,381 (x)  
			  
			 200304 
			 Land and buildings 500,000 524,000 (x)  
			  
			 200405 
			 Land and buildings 570,000 584,182 (x)  
			  
			 200506 
			 Land and buildings 530,000 533,861 (x)  
			 Land and buildings 100,000 100,000 (x)  
			 Land and buildings 400,000 400,000 (x)  
			 Land and buildings 730,000 731,890 (x)  
			 Total 11,830,000 12,853,691   
		
	
	
		PBNI
		
			   Sale price at: Money accrued was: 
			  Asset type Time of sale (1) () Current prices (2) () (x) Retained by Department (y) Claimed by Treasury 
		
		
			 200203 Building 275,000 303,017 (x)  
			 200304 Building 230,000 245,604 (x)  
			 Total  505,000 548,621   
		
	
	(B) Agencies
	Please see following table for the only NIO Agency which has sold land and buildings since 1997 Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS).
	
		NIPS
		
			  Sale price at: Money accrued was: 
			 Asset type Time of sale (1) () Current prices (2) () (x) retained by Department (y) claimed by Treasury 
		
		
			 199899 
			 Land 140,000 164,766 (x)  
			  
			 19992000 
			 Land 115,000 133,718 (x)  
			 Land 25,000 29,245 (x)  
			 Land 5,500 6,434 (x)  
			 Building 30,000 34,841 (x)  
			  
			 200001 
			 Land 5,000 5,658 (x)  
			 Land 48,000 54,503 (x)  
			  
			 200102 
			 Land 12,250 13,614 (x)  
			  
			 200203 
			 Building 196,448 211,408  (y) 
			  
			 200304 
			 Land 45,000 48,000 (x)  
			 Total 622,198 702,187 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Remaining land at HMP Maze prison site was gifted to The Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) in March 2003.
	2. Land at HMP Belfast site was gifted to the Department of Social Development in July 2003.
	3. The Youth Justice Agency transferred land and buildings, valued at 400,000, to NIPS at nil value in April 2004.
	(C) independent statutory bodies
	None of the NIO's independent statutory bodies have sold land or buildings since 7 May 1997.

Departmental Staff

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civil servants in his Department worked from home for at least one day a week in the last year for which figures are available.

Shaun Woodward: In relation to the Northern Ireland Office this is a nil return.

Departmental Staff

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many disciplinary actions against civil servants employed in his Department (a) were commenced and (b) resulted in a sanction being applied in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The following warnings issued to NIO staff are in relation to poor attendance, performance and conduct. It is not possible to identify the number of staff where action was commenced but did not result in any warning being issued or to identify the number of staff who also received a sanction as a result of a warning being received. This could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
	
		
			  Warnings 
		
		
			 2005 25 
			 2004 18 
			 2003 56 
			 2002 67 
			 2001 31

Diabetes

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of the Health and Social Service Boards in Northern Ireland has appointed a network manager to lead in the development of the diabetes service.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Health and Social Services Board has identified the provision of diabetes services as an area of healthcare, which they wish to provide through a Managed Clinical Network (MCN). The framework for the development of an MCN includes the nomination of a network manager and this is included in the Board's proposal for the Diabetes MCN. The Board advises me that a network manager has not yet been identified.
	To date, no other Health and Social Services Board has indicated plans to develop a Managed Clinical Network in diabetes.

Diabetes

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what provision is made in Northern Ireland for counselling and psychological support for people diagnosed with diabetes; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: Each of the four Health Boards is aware of the need to ensure appropriate psychological and emotional support to assist people to come to terms with diabetes and having a life-long chronic condition. Counselling and psychological support is provided to patients by specialist diabetic nurses who are specifically trained to do so. However it is recognised that there is a lack of specialist clinical psychologists input to the process and Boards are currently taking steps to increase the level of clinical psychology support.

Diabetes

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what strategy each Health Board in Northern Ireland has put in place for identifying people likely to develop (a) type 1 and (b) type 2 diabetes.

Shaun Woodward: The UK National Screening Committee has stated that there is no justification for universal (population) screening for Diabetes in the United Kingdom. However there is some support for screening population subgroups that are at a higher risk of undiagnosed diabetes and coronary heart disease. Further work is required in this area and a number of pilot projects are under way elsewhere in the UK, which would influence any decisions to introduce such screening programmes in Northern Ireland. The majority of early identification of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes will take place in primary care and there are regular reviews of patients with diabetes. This would include screening and investigation of the complications which may arise from diabetes.

Dog-fighting

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals have been prosecuted for participating in organised dog-fighting in Northern Ireland in each of the last seven years.

David Hanson: Under the Welfare of Animals (Northern Ireland) Act 1972, it is an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to an animal by causing, procuring or assisting at the fighting or baiting of an animal or to take part in such an episode. Under the same Act, it is also an offence to permit or cause cruelty to animals.
	The following table provides statistics for calendar years 1997 to 2003 for the number of prosecutions for the offences of causing unnecessary suffering, cruelty to animals and permitting cruelty to animals; however it is not possible to determine the type of animal involved.
	Data for 2004 is not yet available.
	
		Prosecutions for specific offences under the Welfare of Animals (Northern Ireland) Act 1972: 19972003
		
			  Causing unnecessary suffering to animals Cruelty to animals Permitting cruelty to animals Total 
		
		
			 1997 6 5 0 11 
			 1998 8 15 0 23 
			 1999 16 16 1 33 
			 2000 10 8 0 18 
			 2001 13 4 0 17 
			 2002 6 2 0 8 
			 2003 11 13 2 26

Educational Attainment

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of 18-year-olds in the Northern Ireland population achieved two or more A level grades A-E in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005.

Angela Smith: The percentage of 18-year-olds in the Northern Ireland population achieving two or more A levels at grades A-E for the 2003/04 academic year is 38. Figures for 2004/05 will be available by March 2006.

Elderly People (Care Packages)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Northern Ireland how many elderly people living in the Causeway Health Trust area in 2005 who have been assessed as requiring a care package while continuing to live in their own homes were waiting longer than one month from the assessment for that care to be delivered.

Shaun Woodward: At 30 September 2005, there were 258 people in the Causeway Health and Social Services Trust area who were in the Elderly Care Programme of Care and who were waiting in the community for five weeks or more for a care package to be delivered. This figure includes those people who were still waiting for part of a domiciliary care package to be delivered, unless the element awaited was not substantial.

Fixed Penalties (Speeding)

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many fixed penalty notices for speeding were issued in each (a) district council area and (b) parliamentary constituency area in Northern Ireland in each year since 2002; and how many such notices were issued where the offence was detected by a traffic camera in each year.

Shaun Woodward: The Police Service of Northern Ireland do not record statistics by council area or parliamentary constituency, but by district command unit. The following table covers the period 200205 and show (a) the total number of fixed penalty notices issued for speeding and (b) the number of fixed penalty notices issued for speeding following detection by mobile and fixed safety cameras.
	
		
			 DCU area  Total number of fixed penalty notices issued for speeding Fixed penalty notices issued for speeding following detection by mobile and fixed safety cameras 
		
		
			 2002   
			 Antrim DCU 493 256 
			 Armagh DCU 770 434 
			 Ballymena DCU 2,240 1,741 
			 Ballymoney DCU 1,091 936 
			 Banbridge DCU 2,097 1,652 
			 Belfast East DCU 598 440 
			 Belfast North DCU 364 296 
			 Belfast South DCU 268 183 
			 Belfast West DCU 258 202 
			 Carrickfergus DCU 535 357 
			 Castlereagh DCU 1,424 1,296 
			 Coleraine DCU 864 557 
			 Cookstown DCU 267 90 
			 Craigavon DCU 2,841 2,359 
			 Down DCU 1,113 615 
			 Dungannon DCU 572 338 
			 Fermanagh DCU 1,986 1,661 
			 Foyle DCU 1,019 742 
			 Larne DCU 388 228 
			 Limavady DCU 607 401 
			 Lisburn DCU 965 725 
			 Magherafelt DCU 714 382 
			 Moyle DCU 186 171 
			 Newry and Mourne DCU 806 556 
			 Newtown abbey DCU 693 455 
			 Newtownards DCU 1,242 824 
			 North Down DCU 1,135 1,015 
			 Omagh DCU 936 660 
			 Strabane DCU 417 335 
			 Not recorded 3 0 
			 Total 26,892 19,907 
			
			 2003   
			 Antrim DCU 698 12 
			 Armagh DCU 1,371 1,165 
			 Ballymena DCU 1,759 993 
			 Ballymoney DCU 615 333 
			 Banbridge DCU 1,898 1,644 
			 Belfast East DCU 2,057 1,617 
			 Belfast North DCU 919 557 
			 Belfast South DCU 879 375 
			 Belfast West DCU 250 139 
			 Carrickfergus DCU 496 230 
			 Castlereagh DCU 5,142 4,677 
			 Coleraine DCU 639 264 
			 Cookstown DCU 279 18 
			 Craigavon DCU 1,176 631 
			 Down DCU 705 237 
			 Dungannon DCU 444 153 
			 Fermanagh DCU 873 548 
			 Foyle DCU 1,009 536 
			 Larne DCU 276 110 
			 Limavady DCU 513 208 
			 Lisburn DCU 643 71 
			 Magherafelt DCU 690 331 
			 Moyle DCU 200 149 
			 Newry and Mourne DCU 1,135 887 
			 Newtownabbey DCU 558 34 
			 Newtownards DCU 897 528 
			 North Down DCU 1,049 727 
			 Omagh DCU 566 200 
			 Strabane DCU 288 201 
			 Total 28,024 17,575 
			
			 2004   
			 Antrim DCU 772 81 
			 Armagh DCU 248 66 
			 Ballymena DCU 803 186 
			 Ballymoney DCU 219 22 
			 Banbridge DCU 1,419 1,165 
			 Belfast East DCU 3,762 2,789 
			 Belfast North DCU 1,779 1,571 
			 Belfast South DCU 861 257 
			 Belfast West DCU 708 624 
			 Carrickfergus DCU 185 54 
			 Castlereagh DCU 3,730 3,503 
			 Coleraine DCU 763 92 
			 Cookstown DCU 241 60 
			 Craigavon DCU 980 470 
			 Down DCU 814 371 
			 Dungannon DCU 521 207 
			 Fermanagh DCU 303 102 
			 Foyle DCU 1,364 622 
			 Larne DCU 185 0 
			 Limavady DCU 442 16 
			 Lisburn DCU 674 5 
			 Magherafelt DCU 779 208 
			 Moyle DCU 91 39 
			 Newry and Mourne DCU 2,000 1,601 
			 Newtownabbey DCU 386 7 
			 Newtownards DCU 342 90 
			 North Down DCU 1,918 1,513 
			 Omagh DCU 658 463 
			 Strabane DCU 116 0 
			 Total 27,063 16,184 
			 2005   
			 Antrim DCU 1,043 0 
			 Armagh DCU 344 66 
			 Ballymena DCU 760 85 
			 Ballymoney DCU 204 19 
			 Banbridge DCU 2,396 2,064 
			 Belfast East DCU 2,394 1,556 
			 Belfast North DCU 1,268 1,004 
			 Belfast South DCU 1,182 538 
			 Belfast West DCU 338 271 
			 Carrickfergus DCU 84 7 
			 Castlereagh DCU 2,298 2,037 
			 Coleraine DCU 814 91 
			 Cookstown DCU 369 194 
			 Craigavon DCU 982 277 
			 Down DCU 1,062 347 
			 Dungannon DCU 992 431 
			 Fermanagh DCU 497 141 
			 Foyle DCU 1,352 666 
			 Larne DCU 210 0 
			 Limavady DCU 547 118 
			 Lisburn DCU 677 14 
			 Magherafelt DCU 893 342 
			 Moyle DCU 107 9 
			 Newry and Mourne DCU 1,946 1,288 
			 Newtownabbey DCU 321 0 
			 Newtownards DCU 439 126 
			 North Down DCU 996 680 
			 Omagh DCU 899 467 
			 Strabane DCU 197 0 
			 Total 25,611 12,838 
		
	
	Note:
	The total number of fixed penalty notices issued for speeding includes those fixed penalty notices issued following detection by mobile and fixed safety cameras.

Hamill Review

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in the implementation of the Hamill Review.

Shaun Woodward: As I announced on 6 June 2005, the Hamill report will be taken forward in the context of developing a Strategic Development Plan for the Northern Ireland Prison Service. The subsequent Blueprint programme encompasses the Hamill report in seeking to modernise and develop the Service. The programme is being project managed in six separate but interlinked strands.
	Much work is nearing completion on the first four strands including assessments of population projections and prisoner needs, the development of the estate, alternative approaches to contestability and options for court escorting. Where appropriate, proposals will be published for comment or consultation during the spring.
	Strand 5, covering staff reward and recognition, incorporates a range of issues which will be addressed during the course of this year.
	Strand 6 covers a variety of separate improvement and efficiency projects, the full implementation of which will span a longer timescale. I have however already announced last autumn, the transfer to DHSSPS by 1 April 2007 of responsibility for prisoner healthcare.

IRA Disarmament

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State forNorthern Ireland if he will make a statement on theeffectiveness of IRA disarmament in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: The Chairman of the Independent International Commission for Decommissioning (IICD), General John de Chastelain, announced on 25 September 2005, that it had witnessed full and final decommissioning by the PIRA of arms and weaponry.
	The seventh Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) report published on 19 October 2005, recognised that statement as
	very significant
	and that
	initial signs following the PIRA statement are encouraging.
	Subsequent IMC reports will provide a clear indication of whether or not the PIRA have met the commitments they have made to end all activity.

Murders/Punishment Beatings

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people under the age of 16 have (a) been murdered and (b) received a punishment beating in Northern Ireland for each of the last eight years.

Shaun Woodward: PSNI has provided the following statistical information in response to this question:
	
		
			  Persons under the age of 16 
			  Murders Casualties as a result of paramilitary style assaults 
		
		
			 1998 (50)10 2 
			 1999 1 8 
			 2000 1 3 
			 2001 2 16 
			 2002 1 8 
			 2003 2 7 
			 2004 0 10 
			 2005 2 3 
			 Total 19 57 
		
	
	(50) Includes victims of the Omagh bomb

Organised Crime

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his assessment is of the extent of Provisional IRA involvement in organised crime in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: There have been significant changes in PIRA activity, including in the area of criminality, since the July statement. However, there are complex assessments to be made to distinguish between criminality by individual PIRA members for their own gain and criminality carried out by PIRA members which is authorised by the organisation.
	It is the job of the Independent Monitoring Commission to comment on these issues and to consider whether PIRA have met the commitments they have made to end all activity, including involvement in organised crime. I look forward to receiving the Commission's forthcoming report, and successive reports, to assess progress in this area.
	The Government remains fully committed to tackling organised crime in Northern Ireland, from whatever source.

People Smuggling

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate the police has made of the number of (a) people smuggled illegally into Northern Ireland and (b) females brought into Northern Ireland to work as prostitutes in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: I have been asked to reply.
	(a) It is not possible to state with accuracy the number of people smuggled illegally into Northern Ireland over each of the last five years. The nature of facilitation is such that many of those who have been facilitated may state if encountered that they entered by themselves on a false passport or stowed away without assistance, or similar response. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary it is often not possible to disprove the subject's claimed method of entry.
	(b) The Police Service of Northern Ireland has conducted a number of inquiries into suggestions of people-trafficking to Northern Ireland for the purposes of prostitution. There is presently no evidence to suggest that this is taking place in Northern Ireland. The Police Service of Northern Ireland is acutely aware of the problems experienced in other jurisdictions and they continue to monitor the situation closely.

Police Officer Training

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  for what reasons drill is included in the foundation training curriculum for police officers in Northern Ireland;
	(2)  whether it is essential for a trainee police officer (a) to pass a competence test and (b) to achieve competency in drill as a prerequisite for successfully completing foundation training;
	(3)  what the (a) frequency and (b) duration was of drill performed by each intake of trainee police officers in (i) 2003, (ii) 2004 and (iii) 2005;
	(4)  how many trainee police officers in each intake in (a) 2003, (b) 2004 and (c) 2005 reported injuries as a result of performing drill; how many were forced to interrupt their initial training as a result; and for how long each was absent on sick leave.

Shaun Woodward: These inquiries refer to operational decisions which are the responsibility of the chief constable. The hon. Gentleman should pursue them directly with the chief constable.

Rail Travel

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost was of the standard fare for the train journey between Coleraine and (a) Belfast and (b) Londonderry in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The standard fare for the train journey between Coleraine and Belfast in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			 As at January  
		
		
			 2006 7.20 
			 2005 6.80 
			 2004 6.50 
			 2003 6.20 
			 2002 5.90 
			 2001 5.60 
		
	
	The standard fare for the train journey between Coleraine and Londonderry in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			 As at January  
		
		
			 2006 5.50 
			 2005 5.20 
			 2004 4.90 
			 2003 4.70 
			 2002 4.50 
			 2001 4.30

Speed Cameras

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many motorists have been caught speeding by mobile speed cameras in each of Northern Ireland's parliamentary constituencies over the past 24 months.

Shaun Woodward: The Police Service of Northern Ireland do not record statistics by parliamentary constituency, but by District Command Unit. The table below shows the number of Fixed Penalty Notices and Conditional Offers issued by PSNI following the use of mobile safety cameras during the period 200405.
	
		
			 DCU Area 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Antrim DCU 81 0 
			 Armagh DCU 66 66 
			 Ballymena DCU 186 85 
			 Ballymoney DCU 22 19 
			 Banbridge DCU 1,165 2,064 
			 Belfast East DCU 864 643 
			 Belfast North DCU 104 81 
			 Belfast South DCU 257 538 
			 Belfast West DCU 8 38 
			 Carrickfergus DCU 54 7 
			 Castlereagh DCU 398 456 
			 Coleraine DCU 92 91 
			 Cookstown DCU 60 194 
			 Craigavon DCU 470 277 
			 Down DCU 371 347 
			 Dungannon DCU 207 431 
			 Fermanagh DCU 102 141 
			 Foyle DCU 622 666 
			 Limavady DCU 16 118 
			 Lisburn DCU 5 14 
			 Magherafelt DCU 208 342 
			 Moyle DCU 39 9 
			 Newry and Mourne DCU 1,601 1,288 
			 Newtownabbey DCU 7 0 
			 Newtownards DCU 90 126 
			 North Down DCU 1,513 680 
			 Omagh DCU 463 467 
			 DCU not recorded 3 0 
			 Total 9,074 9188 
		
	
	Note:
	Larne and Strabane do not currently have any identified camera locations for mobile safety cameras.

Stormont (School Visits)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many schoolchildren have participated in visits to Parliament Buildings, Stormont, in each of the last three years.

Angela Smith: The number of schoolchildren visiting Parliament buildings in each of the last three years was;
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2003 3,852 
			 2004 4,582 
			 2005 4,783

Volunteering

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many volunteering positions his Department has offered in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: I am sorry for the delay in replying.
	An office notice was issued to all staff on 12 June 2001 advising them of the Active Community Scheme launched the previous year by the Prime Minister. The aim of the circular was to encourage staff who were not already involved in voluntary activities to consider how they might participate.
	The following table sets out the number of staff who volunteered over the last five years.
	
		
			  Number of staff who took part in voluntary work 
		
		
			 2000 0 
			 2001 1 
			 2002 1 
			 2003 4 
			 2004 1 
			 2005 3

Water Meters

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether it is his policy that the Government should bear the cost of (a) buying and (b) installing domestic water meters.

Shaun Woodward: No. Although there will be no 'up front' charge for meter installation, the cost of supplying and installing domestic water meters will be included in the metered tariff and will, therefore, be borne by metered water customers. This is similar to practice in England and Wales.